Riverhead Town Board

Failing to adopt a moratorium while at the same time dawdling on the comprehensive plan, allowing new land uses and increased development density without the transfer of development rights — in other words, maintaining the status quo — indicate that the Town Board either doesn't grasp the urgency of these matters or just doesn't care.

Editorial: In Riverhead, the public can't "follow the money" because there are no public budget discussions by the Town Board. Everything is "discussed" in emails or in offline private meetings. Why?

The town board is split on whether any moratorium on industrial development should allow exemptions for projects already under review.

Town Board wrap-up: A new code is intended to protect neighborhood character and preserve property values, according to the legislation unanimously approved by the Riverhead Town Board on Tuesday.

The Town Board voted 3-2 last night to approve a 2023 operating budget that pierces the tax levy cap and raises the tax rate by more than 4%. Supervisor Yvette Aguiar voted no, citing amendments to her tentative budget proposed by council members — all but one of which she voted to approve at the board’s Nov. 1 meeting. 

The millions of highway fund revenues spent on leaf pickup over the past decades could have purchased new plow trucks, paved roads, built desperately needed sidewalks, improved crosswalks, and provided more highway crew members to do the crucial jobs they do that keep our town functioning. Yet the Town Board insists on raiding the highway department's budget.

As the winter months approach, bringing the potential for snowfall while leaves still lay upon town roads, town officials are scrambling to find a way to resolve what they hope is the final dispute between the Town Board and the highway superintendent over who pays for loose leaf pickup in Riverhead. 

More senior and disabled homeowners in Riverhead could receive property tax exemptions in 2024, if the Town Board increases income eligibility limits authorized by a state law passed this year.

The saga of loose-leave pickup in the Town of Riverhead has not yet been laid to rest, with town officials still arguing over which town revenue fund should pay for the service.

If adopted in its current form, the 2023 budget will increase the town-wide tax bill on an “average” home by $120.45 over 2022, the town financial administrator said. An “average” home is one with an assessed value of $50,000, about 10% of its market value.