WESTHAMPTON – Town voters will decide this Saturday whether or not to approve a Proposition 2 ½ debt-exclusion override to pay for the construction of a new $4.4 million public safety complex.
Voting will take place at Westhampton Town Hall at 1 South Street, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., for the sole question on the ballot relating to the funding of the public safety complex. The override requires a simple majority to pass.
The ballot question follows the Sept. 11 Special Town Meeting where voters, by a two-thirds majority, approved for the town to bond for the funds required to construct a new public safety complex at 48 Stage Road. The proposed increase in the tax rate would be used to pay back those loans over the course of 20 to 25 years.
If voters approve the measure, the town’s financial advisor, Clark H. Rowell, said there will be an anticipated “jump” in taxes during fiscal year 2020, and after that, taxes would stay level over the life of the project’s debt.
The monthly increase in the tax rate is estimated to be 24 cents per thousand dollars of assessed property value for the average taxpayer in Westhampton. That would mean an increase of $69 a year for a property valued at $286,000, which is the figure town officials used to define the average home value.
Since the current tax rate is at $19.43, the average taxpayer currently pays about $5,557 a year. If the Proposition 2½ for the complex were to pass, that average taxpayer would pay $5,625 a year for the next 20 to 25 years.
Also on Saturday, Fire Chief Christopher Norris will be at the station from 8 a.m. to noon to give residents a tour of the current fire and police station at 48 Stage Road so they can be informed prior to voting at Town Hall.