Spencer Asks County to Cover Remaining Sewer Plant Upgrade Costs

Trustee Henry Tobin and Mayor George Doll recently met with newly elected Suffolk Legislator and Citizens Campaign for the Environment Executive Director to discuss obtaining additional funding from the County for upgrades, Tobin said at the Northport Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday.

About $7.5 million of the roughly $9 million dollar cost of upgrading the plant to meet the DEC's is not covered by existing grants. As promised during his election campaign, Legislator Spencer (D-Centerport) has introduced a bill in the legislature that would draw from the Assessment Stabilization Reserve Fund to cover these remaining costs and spare property tax increases for Northport residents.

“There’s about $45 million in the County’s fund that receives its revenues through a part of the County’s share of the sales tax," Spencer said in an open letter in September. "South Shore residents, who live in the Southwest Sewer district, have gotten millions in cash from this fund for years. Northport deserves its fair share, too!”

Tobin and Doll made the case for further county support at the meeting citing shared environmental and commercial impacts, and said that the village will continue to pursue sources of funding from other levels of government.

For more news from the Feb. 7 Northport Board of Trustees meeting, .