Tentative budget may not be on agenda of tentative budget meeting

Town of Greenport, NY, October 25 — The Greenport special town board meeting scheduled for Monday, October 26, will in all likelihood not feature the tentative budget on its agenda.

Supervisor Eldridge explained in an email she sent to town officials last week that Town Accountant Mike Torchia may not have access to the current tentative budget, stored off-site in the cloud, and distribute it to members of the town board ahead of the meeting. Torchia's business is in the middle of moving into One Hudson City Center which limits his ability to access records.

Per Town Law § 108, a town must present a preliminary budget to the general public no later than on the Thursday following the November election. November 5 is therefore this year's deadline. If the tentative budget will not be discussed on October 25, it will require an additional special town board meeting to accept the tentative budget and file it as the preliminary budget with the town clerk before to November 5.

Three other items on the meeting agenda

While the 2027 budget remains in purgatory, other items will be discussed.

There is a resolution appointing Peter Tenerowicz as new chairman of the Planning Board after the previous chair, Ed Stiffler, passed away on October 7. Current vice-chair Bob MacGiffert, meanwhile, will step off the Planning Board after the November Planning Board meeting, reducing it to three members only.

Of interest to residents of Mt. Merino Rd. is a resolution authorizing John Mausolf and the Highway Department to hire an outside engineer to complete the engineer work required to repair the road which was damaged during the rain event at the end of July.

The town board will meet at 5 PM on Monday, October 26, in the Greenport town hall and it is expected that both resolutions will pass.