ONE YEAR AGO: How the Town Board Saved You from a 5-Figure Tax Payment & an Immediate Annual Tax Increase

One year ago, the Town of Huntington entered into a settlement with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) to resolve the runaway state agency’s $825 million tax certiorari lawsuit against the Town, which challenged the assessment on the Northport Power Plant and sought a 90% reduction in its property taxes. Had the Town Board not acted to protect Huntington taxpayers from this existential threat, every homeowner in our town would have paid an average $12,251 lump sum in restitution to LIPA, in addition to immediate annual property tax increases averaging $4,558 for Northport-East Northport homeowners and $350 for homeowners in all other school districts (and remember, that is annual, each year compounded on top of the previous year’s increase).

Because of the current administration’s unwavering commitment to Huntington taxpayers, the settlement saved residents from 90% of those tax increases, eliminated the threat of devastating five-figure lump sums owed by each homeowner to LIPA, and protected property values townwide, earning the bipartisan support of the Town Board and the Northport-East Northport school board. In fact, the school district concluded that “the settlement represents the best chance…to maintain a high-quality education program for [its] students.”

While Huntington residents, parents and taxpayers recount this success with appreciation, the lone Town Board member who voted against the settlement, Gene Cook, is inexplicably running on an anti-settlement platform for town supervisor, despite his pushing for a lesser settlement agreement in 2013 that never came near offering the favorable terms negotiated and accepted one year ago.

Gene has turned his back on Republicans and our pro-taxpayer values, aligning himself with key leaders in the Huntington Democratic Party in a shameful effort to divert votes away from Republican Ed Smyth and install liberal Democrat Rebecca Sanin as the next town supervisor.

As a member of the Town Board and our Deputy Supervisor, Ed Smyth partnered with his Town Board colleagues to deliver the LIPA settlement and save our Town and its taxpayers. Ed will build upon the Republican record of holding the line on property taxes, fighting overdevelopment and protecting our suburban quality of life.

This is the most important election in the history of our town. To win, we will need every Republican to vote for Ed Smyth, Highway Superintendent candidate Andre Sorrentino and Town Board candidates Sal Ferro and Dr. Dave Bennardo. I hope we can count on your support!

Sincerely,

Tom McNally, Chairman
Huntington Republican Committee

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Related:

• The Democrats are Desperate, and Now They've Got Eugene Cook
• Huntington Democrats Want to Bring Overdevelopment Back – But Why Hasn’t Anyone Heard From the Democrat Candidate for Town Supervisor on This Issue?
• Democrat Supervisor Candidate Sanin Tells Residents Opposing Overdevelopment They Don't Speak for Huntington
• Smyth and Republicans to Block Democrats from Reinstating Unchecked Development and Massive Property Tax Increases