Town To Hold Budget Hearings on Tuesday

The Town of Oyster Bay will hold two budget hearings Tuesday on a proposed spending plan that could eventually eliminate as many as 200 employees.

The $265.1 million budget represents a one percent spending increase over last year.

The Town's Tax Levy will go up 3.8 percent from a year ago, but that passes muster under the state tax cap because of a tax credit the town received for not exceeding the cap in the 2012 budget, according to Town spokeswoman Marta Kane.

The budget includes an almost 13 million cut in employee salaries going from $95.5 million to $82.9 million.

There have been 91 Town employees who have accepted retirement incentives this past year, but the Town is also looking to make somewhere between 150 and 200 layoffs, according to Kane.

The exact number of layoffs will depend on collective bargaining with other factors.

Last year there were no public comments at the two budget hearings. Tuesday's hearings will be held at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.