“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” Lord Acton in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton 1887
Smithtown Board members would be well advised to consider this quote. The Supervisor’s budget message provided the grim news that property values have decreased significantly with the average home’s assessed value dropping from $6,000 to $5,500. A decrease in property value has major implications for taxpayers, but it did not prevent the Town Board from raising taxes and giving pay raises. For some town employees raises were part of contract negotiations, not so for everyone. Board members voted, unanimously, to award a ten percent increase to each member of the Planning Board (PB) for the 2013 Budget year. This is the same PB which Council members now want to take away their responsibilities for overseeing commercial development. Is the PB doing a good job worthy of a ten percent pay hike or responsible for the stagnation and blight in our downtowns? Which is it? Tax payers deserve to know.To read editiorial click on First A Raise Then A Power Grab By Smithtown Town Board