Town Tax Hike Could Be 16%
The budget message shock delivered last week by the Town's budget advisor spells out a scenario whereby Town residents could face a 16% increase in Town taxes next year.  The increase represents the new budget analysis which states that the Town has a $5.2 million dollar shortfall.
The question remains...what happened to the reserves which were recently tapped to offset the what would have been a current shortfall?  It seems like there has been some poor accounting of the Town's finances to suddenly find us in this fix.

State Plan to Shutdown Parks Draws Anger
The current plan to shutdown 41 of 178 State parks, reduce services at 23 others and to shutter the doors at 14 of 35 historic sites around the State is drawing lots of anger.  A protest rally in Albany is planned.

Police Blotter Seems To Be Getting Larger
News of crimes committed in the Riverhead area are usually reported on the local radio station (WRIV) and in the police blotter reports of the local papers (News Review and Community Journal).  It seems that there is a general increase in the number of reported crimes including drug busts, assaults, attempted bank holdups, break-ins and stolen property items than we have seen in the past.

Gabreski Airport Overhaul
The Francis Gabreski Airport at Westhampton Beach will soon start a 7.5 million dollar overhaul of the facilities.

Hovering Around New Zealand