Some Answers to Your Concerns
Below are some concerns you may have or might have heard. If you have a question that isn't listed here, please come to our meetings or email us. Whether you are for a village or against it, we would like to hear from you - we want you to have a say in what happens in YOUR community.
1. Who determines the boundaries?
The boundaries are determined by the Village Committee. We based our boundaries on what the residents wanted, would benefit the community the most and would keep taxes down. We actively discussed the boundaries at the meetings and held a vote on where the boundaries would be. We want everyone who lives in Shirley, south of Sunrise Highway and not taken in by Mastic Beach, to be included in the Village. Leaving areas out, especially areas which are suffering the most, wouldn't make sense.
There has been quite a bit of negativity put out there about us tampering with the true identity ot the "Hamlet of Smith Point". According to the Manor of St. George's paperwork, the traditional Smith Point boundary has always been from Havenwood and Golden Gate, south to the beach. We want people to understand that the Village will be named by the people who reside in the village and may not necessarily be "Smith Point". Whatever the residents decide to name the new Village, it does not change the Historical Facts of this area. Additionally, your address, whether you use Shirley or Smith Point with the 11967 zip code would not change.
2. Will there be additional codes and regulations?
We want a village because it will dramatically improve our quality of life and give us control over what happens in our community. Any additional codes should not affect the average homeowner and would only be to enhance the quality of life of the residents. As a village, we will no longer have to wait for the Town, but can actively enforce code violations ourselves, especially with absentee landlords who have become a serious problem in our community. Since they don't live here, they have no vested interest in our community and therefore do not care how their property and tenants affect our quality of life and our safety.
3. Will our taxes go up?
Becoming a Village does not mean taxes will go up. Other incorporated villages have shown that their taxes went down after incorporation. Residents may see less taxes because the village will be able to collect taxes and other monies, such as franchise taxes from LIPA, Cablevision and Verizon, that are currently being paid to the town. If we are careful in choosing what services we want to provide ourselves, then the taxes should not go up. Please see question number 5 for more details.
4. Isn't this just another layer of government?
Instead of us answering to the Town, the Town would now have to answer to the Village. Quality of life issues could be handled immediately by the village instead of the layers of red-tape and numerous calls that we currently have to endure. It would also allow us to benefit from state and federal grants that are currently unavailable to us.
5. Will we lose the town and county services that are currently provided?
After becoming a village and electing your Mayor and Trustees, they will go through a list of services that are provided by the Town and decide which services they want to provide themselves and which services will remain with the Town of Brookhaven. These services will be determined by what you the residents want. If we only take code enforcement, zoning and building, this will ensure that the taxes will not go up. These are the issues that have caused a majority of the problems down here and are the ones that desperately need to be addressed. The Suffolk County Police Department, the Town Highway Department and Sanitation Department would remain the same unless the residents decide otherwise. We have heard that people have been told that other services would be provided such as a village constable and garbage pick up from your front door. To provide these kind of services, the taxes would go up substantially, therefore these are services that we are not considering. Again, these decisions will be made by the Mayor and Trustees that you elect, based on what the community wants.
If you have any additional questions or concerns that haven't been addressed here, feel free to contact us at Smithpoint11967@aol.com