CPF debt

Riverhead officials say the Community Preservation Fund has enough money to retire the town’s remaining land-preservation debt five years early.

Thanks to a state law passed with the budget package last week, Riverhead will be able to refinance its land preservation debt, extending its repayment period and lowering its annual payments — avoiding a hefty town tax increase.

With EPCAL redevelopment still more vision than reality and cash reserves running out, Riverhead Town faces a budget gap it won't plug without major tax hikes, layoffs or both. For real. Tough decisions must be made during a heated local election season by a board that hasn't even adopted a budget for four of the past five fiscal years.

The assistance Supervisor Sean Walter has been hoping to get from a state financing authority to refinance Riverhead's staggering CPF bond debt is far from guaranteed.