Southold to End Year With $5.6 Million Surplus

In a country and state dealing with billions of dollars of debt, will end the year with a $5.6 million surplus, said at the Town Board's Dec. 14 meeting.

"It's no secret the town is trying to batten down the hatches with regards to spending," Russell said.

The supervisor explained how a $5.2 million surplus he had originally anticipated turned into $5.6 million. Negotiations with the Civil Service Employees Association allowed the town not to worry about budget increases for 2010, he said. Also, Southold Town and New York State's retirement incentives helped drive down the cost of the town's payroll — those who retired were not replaced.

"Historically, someone would be hired to perform task A, and then someone would be hired to perform task B," Russell said. "Now, the person performing task A needs to learn how to also perform task B if that person retired. The idea is to have people be as versatile as possible to fill the gaps being created by retirement."

Discretionary spending had also been reduced from the levels of previous years with some pieces of equipment not being replaced. Southold Town Board members also decided not to give themselves raises, which Russell said did not add to the surplus but the money will be used to re-install trash cans at local beaches. 

Because the Town's contract with thehas not yet been settled, Russell added that any salary increases the officers received for 2010 would be retroactive. This is the type of expenditure that the town could expect for the coming year but that it was still to early to determine the costs.

"There are still some bills that need to be paid," he said.

The supervisor ended the meeting by saying that the surplus was a result of simple common sense.

"Government just needs to spend less, and that's the only way we are going to get out of this economic mess we are all in," Russell said.