Town Board approves final 2025 budget
The Riverhead Town Board unanimously approved the final draft of the 2025 budget, which includes $73.5 million townwide appropriations and a total of $117.2 million in overall expenditures.
In the same meeting held on Nov. 19, town board officials voted in favor of a local law authorizing an override of the 2% statewide tax cap with a 7.89% hike — the town’s largest increase since the statewide tax cap was enacted in 2012. Last year’s budget saw a 4.86% tax increase.
The pierced tax cap mainly has to do with the general fund spending in the budget — calculated at $64.8 million — which increases $4 million over 2024, according to the adopted budget document. This is largely attributed to rising insurance premiums and retirement costs, as well as contractual obligations to replace old vehicles for the police, fire marshal and building and grounds departments.
On the impact this budget has on taxpayers, Jeanette DiPaola, the town’s financial administrator, previously told the News-Review that a house with a value of $720,000 will incur an estimated townwide property tax increase of 80 cents per day — or $288 a year — and the cost of residential waste will increase to roughly 18 cents per day.
The Riverhead Police Department makes up almost half of the new budget, which includes $175,000 for five new police vehicles. Ms. DiPaola previously said at a Nov. 7 public hearing that the town is spending $200,000 more on new radios, which is due to Suffolk County changing its radio frequency system — making the town police’s current radios obsolete.
“It’s necessary to increase our police presence and all the equipment that is necessary,” Councilman Kenneth Rothwell said before voting yes to the budget adoption.
In the tentative budget — the draft presented before approval — Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard was expected to receive a $10,000 salary increase. In the newly adopted budget, the town supervisor is now only getting a roughly $3,700 pay hike.
Town board members are also receiving slightly less in salary bumps, down to nearly $1,600 instead of the tentative budget’s proposed $3,600 increase. Town justice salaries will rise 5.6%, from $88,800 to $93,800. The town tax receiver and the town clerk will get a 5.6% raise, from $88,038 to $93,038.
Council members Joann Waski and Kenneth Rothwell had previously stated that they would not accept salary increases. Mr. Rothwell at the recent town board meeting reiterated his decision and requested the financial administrator to not issue the pay raise for his position.
The full adopted 2025 budget can be viewed on the Riverhead Town website.
