Halpin pitches early retirement plan to cut Riverhead tax hikes

Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin is touting an early retirement incentive program he says could cut future tax increases by encouraging some longtime union employees to retire.

The first-year supervisor announced the proposal Tuesday in a press release and two-minute pre-recorded video posted to the town’s Facebook page, pointing to the town’s recently released 2025 Annual Financial Report, which showed the general fund balance grew by roughly $5 million last year, from $28.4 million to $33.4 million.

Since taking office in January, Mr. Halpin said he has met weekly with town employees to listen to their “money-saving ideas.” In February, he said, a CSEA employee floated an early retirement program as a way to create immediate savings for taxpayers, and the supervisor pursued it further.

Preliminary estimates show the plan could save taxpayers up to 3% beginning in 2027 and continue reducing costs over the next five years, according to Mr. Halpin. Eligible employees in the town’s CSEA, PBA and SOA unions would be covered under the proposal, which is expected to be discussed in more detail at Thursday morning’s public Town Board work session, he told the Riverhead News-Review on Tuesday.

“When I took office less than five months ago, I promised you, the taxpayers, that I would do everything in my power to stop piercing the tax cap, and increase the pay for hardworking employees,” Mr. Halpin said in his video. “I want to fulfill my promise to you, by reinvesting a portion of this $5 million of your money, back into you, the taxpayer. To lower your property taxes — and to the employees, for future advancement and better pay.”

The proposal comes after Riverhead pierced the state tax cap in its 2025 budget with a 7.89% tax hike — the town’s largest increase since the cap was enacted in 2012 — a possible flashpoint in Mr. Halpin’s narrow win over Republican incumbent Tim Hubbard last year. Mr. Halpin, the lone Democrat on the Town Board, is seeking reelection in November in an expected matchup against Republican Councilman Kenneth Rothwell.

Mr. Rothwell sharply criticized the rollout, saying the video announcement and press release were issued without the inclusion of the Town Board. He accused Mr. Halpin of closed-door government practices, using town resources for political campaigning and showing an overall lack of transparency. He said the supervisor brought the proposal up as a contractual matter in a closed executive session earlier this month.

“It’s not private negotiations, it’s budgetary matters,” Mr. Rothwell said. “If there is additional funding through the investments of fund balance, then that’s the taxpayers’ money, and that belongs to the taxpayer.”

In his news release, Mr. Halpin said the goal of the early retirement incentives would be to “lower payroll costs, reduce future tax increases and honor long-term employees.” He also said the plan could help the town manage costs while maintaining services, improve retention, create promotional opportunities and potentially lead to pay increases for employees.

“This was one of the best ideas I’ve seen so far,” Jeanette DiPaola, the town’s financial administrator, told the Riverhead News-Review on Tuesday. 

The town’s annual financial report shows the general fund took in $71 million in revenue and other sources in 2025, while spending and transfers totaled $66 million. That increased the general fund balance from $28.4 million to $33.4 million by year’s end. That extra $5 million included $1.4 million in interest earned last year.

Across the three unions, approximately 32 employees would be eligible to retire, meaning the maximum annual savings could reach $1.7 million if every eligible employee accepted the incentive.

“That would be if every single person who is eligible took it, which is obviously not realistic, but that would be the maximum,” the financial administrator said. “Generally, 1% of the tax levy is about $550,000 for the general fund, so that’s why we’re saying roughly 3% of the tax levy.” 

Eligible retirees within the Riverhead PBA would make up the majority of the savings due to higher salaries, Ms. DiPaola said.

“[At] Tier 6, the employees pay a percentage of their contributions, whereas Tier 4 does not, so that’s where a lot of the savings come into play, is the retirement,” she said. 

Early retirement incentive programs established in past years offered a combination of payments and insurance-related incentives over a five-year period. However, Ms. DiPaola confirmed this proposal does not include any insurance incentive, only a one-time payment. More details are to be sorted out during the Thursday work session. 

“Because we have this extra $5 million, we feel the timing is good, and it would be much better to plan the retirement now in this year because we have the excess in fund balance,” Ms. DiPaola said. “Don’t forget, everybody who is eligible is entitled to their accrued payout times already anyway, so if we could make it work to the town’s advantage, and time it so that we could work through the next budget session for 2027 and incorporate all these savings, it would be wonderful.” 

Mr. Halpin said he has the support of the three unions’ leadership, including Riverhead PBA president Charles Mauceri.

“I think it’s a good thing for my membership,” Mr. Mauceri said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “I have several guys that are close to retirement, and it may help them along the way.”

The supervisor urged the Riverhead Town Board to work collaboratively with union leadership to review the proposal.

Mr. Rothwell also raised concerns about the potential long-term impacts of the early retirement incentive program, including risks to the town’s bond rating and future budget stability, and questioned whether certain town projects would be canceled.

“Something of this magnitude, it should absolutely be in work session,” Mr. Rothwell said. “Put the numbers on the table, let us look at it, explain the financial impact years to come — but what he’s trying to do is rob the bank for a one-time quick fix that might look good for year one, and then in year two, it’s financial devastation.” 

Riverhead Town officials have continued to struggle with worker retention and competition from higher-paying neighboring municipalities and government agencies. Those concerns have been particularly evident within the Riverhead Water District, which recently had its pay structure revised, according to Mr. Halpin. Mr. Rothwell raised similar concerns about losing water district employees to the Suffolk County Water Authority and said retention of law enforcement officers is also a priority.

Mr. Halpin declined to discuss further details before Thursday’s work session and acknowledged he does not yet have Town Board support for the proposal. He said the Tuesday announcement was intended to “get momentum.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, the matter was listed on the work session agenda, but did not have supporting documentation attached.

“I want everyone to know that we think this is a good idea,” Mr. Halpin said Tuesday. “My thing is the willingness to sit down with the CSEA, SOA and PBA to work out those details and try to get it to the table.”

The Town Board work session, which begins Thursday at 10 a.m., will be held in-person and livestreamed on Channel 22.