Sag Harbor proposed budget would hike village taxes $600 for median home

President Donald Trump’s attack on Pope Leo XIV offended Long Island Catholics who spoke with Newsday yesterday, including some Republicans who otherwise support the president.They said they disliked Trump saying Leo is "weak on crime" and caters to "the radical left" and Trump subsequently comparing himself to Jesus Christ in an apparently AI-generated image. The image disappeared from Trump's social media on Monday after backlash. Trump then said it was meant to show him working as a doctor for the Red Cross healing people. Bart Jones reports in NEWSDAY that the Rev. Francis Pizzarelli, a Roman Catholic priest and founder of Hope House Ministries in Port Jefferson, said that "the president really crossed the line when he disrespected the Holy Father and that should not be acceptable to any God-fearing person…It’s just another thing where the president thinks he can really go after someone with an ad hominem attack if they don’t agree with him." Father Pizzarelli added, "I don’t understand why our political leaders have not called him to task with cleaning up his language and to stop demeaning people. He’s the president of the United States. ... At least treat people respectfully."The backlash on Long Island, home to 1.2 million baptized Catholics, came after a poll showed President Trump's standing slipping among Catholics nationwide.Trump won the Catholic vote in the 2024 presidential election by a 12-percentage point margin over Kamala Harris, 55% to 43%. But he now has an approval rating of 48% among Catholics, according to a poll conducted jointly between March 20 and 23 by Republican pollster Shaw & Co. Research and Democratic pollster Beacon Research.***The Long Island Rail Road has fired another worker who admitted to possessing a cloned employee ID card that coworkers used to cover up for his absences.Alfonso A. Castillo reports in NEWSDAY that the termination of road car inspector Eric Smith marks the resolution of the last remaining disciplinary case against the 36 employees implicated in the ID card counterfeiting and distribution ring uncovered in a three-year investigation by the office of Metropolitan Transportation Authority Inspector General Daniel Cort, which announced the firing on social media Friday.Exploiting a COVID-era health precaution that suspended the requirement that workers scan their fingers at biometric time clocks, the workers used equipment purchased on Amazon to run off duplicates of employee ID cards, then kept the extra cards at their job locations, including a Ronkonkoma facility where Smith worked, investigators said. Employees would use the cloned cards to swipe coworkers in and out when they arrived to work late, left early or took extended breaks, according to investigators.MTA payroll records show Smith, who worked for the LIRR since 1997, made $164,925 in 2024, the most recent year for which data was available.LIRR officials have said they’ve taken several measures to prevent employee wage abuse in the future, installing security cameras near time clocks and mandating regular audits of worker facilities by managers. In September 2024, the MTA reinstated the finger-scanning requirement at biometric time clocks.***The Peconic Baykeeper will be leading two marsh cleanups, on Saturday April 18 and Saturday April 26. After the destruction wreaked around our coastlines by ice on the bays this winter much help is needed. Mike Wright reports on 27east.com that the April 19 Meadow Lane Marsh and Shoreline Community Cleanup event will focus on the vast marshlands along the Shinnecock Bay shoreline off Meadow Lane in Southampton Village.The Baykeeper will have a 10-yard dumpster on site for disposing of the collected junk. Baykeeper Peter Topping says “the more the merrier” for volunteers!The gang will be gathering at the Dune Beach parking area in Southampton at 9 a.m. this Saturday.There will be complimentary beer and wine, courtesy of the Southampton Publick House, for those volunteers over 21.The second event, Saturday April 26, will focus on the Sag Harbor shorelines and will start at the Breakwater Yacht Club at 10:30 a.m.For more information about either event, call the Baykeeper’s offices at 631-653-4804***New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is taking off the gloves, accusing the powerful trial lawyers lobbying group of outright lying about her plan aimed at saving a bundle on car insurance.Carl Campanile reports in THE NY POST that Governor Hochul is proposing changing the legal definition of “serious injury” to cut down on frivolous and fraudulent claims such as staged accidents and to cap the damages victims can receive if they are uninsured, convicted of impaired driving, or have a felony conviction connected to the accident.At a recent press conference, the Trial Lawyers Association — accompanied by Assemblywoman Jen Lunsford (D-Rochester) — presented a handful of cases of accident victims, claiming Hochul’s proposal would have negatively impacted their ability to collect damages. But the Hochul administration reviewed the cases and claimed none of the victims would have been impacted by her proposal.“Exploiting victims of serious accidents to peddle false information and misconstrue facts is a new low,” a Hochul spokesperson said. “The governor’s auto insurance proposals are a common sense way to root out fraud, waste and abuse, without stripping legitimate victims of their rightful compensation. While special interests continue to put profits first, Governor Hochul will continue to focus on driving down costs for New Yorkers.”In response, a Trial Lawyers Association rep called Hochul’s analysis “blatantly false.”“These claims are blatantly false, just like the fiction being sold to the public that this plan will result in savings.” Hochul’s proposals “incentivize the defendant to drag out the case, aiming to shift just enough blame onto the victim to avoid paying anything at all.”A grieving family “could be left with nothing”—based on a disputed allocation of fault—under the governor’s plan, the TLA rep said.Data show that New York drivers pay the highest car insurance rates in the nation, shelling out more than $4,000 on average.NY POST sources say the auto insurance issue is one of the major hold-ups in adopting a new state budget, which was due April 1.***Sag Harbor has proposed a new budget that hikes village taxes by $600 for the median home, but officials are looking to scale back the increase before adopting a final plan.Mayor Thomas Gardella's $18.4 million budget proposal would increase spending by 16% in the next year. It would raise the village tax levy from $9.2 million to $10.5 million, which would result in a tax hike of just under $600 for a home assessed at the median market value of $1.5 million, according to Alexandra Balserus, the village treasurer.Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that the current budget totals $15.9 million. The new fiscal year runs from June 1 through May 31, 2027.Mayor Gardella said the Village of Sag Harbor is imposing a hefty increase this time, but future ones would likely be smaller. He described the tentative plan as a “wish list.” The mayor and trustees have already begun identifying areas for cuts so the tax hike is smaller.“We want to definitely set that rate to where we take that initial hit and then as we move forward, as the years go by, we can achieve where we want to be without having to go back to the taxpayer again for anything substantial,” Gardella said when he introduced the budget during a recent meeting.The budget proposes using $582,487 in reserves to offset tax increases. But some officials said they are wary of dipping into the fund balance, arguing it could jeopardize the village's credit rating.Officials have outlined possible trims to the tentative spending plan. Among them is a proposed $150,000 cut for traffic mitigation measures. A study is underway but the village does not have a cost estimate for implementing potential recommendations, which could include rearranging crosswalks. Funding for improvements could come from outside grants or future budgets, officials said.Sag Harbor officials also proposed trimming $30,000 from the $150,000 set aside for consultants who conduct environmental and traffic reviews required for large construction projects. Village officials said those costs have been underbudgeted in past years. Developers pay a portion of the expense.***The Children’s Museum of the East End (CMEE) will host an Earth Day Swap Party this coming Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its location in Bridgehampton.The free, family-friendly event invites community members to donate gently used books, puzzles and sports equipment between now and April 18, then return to “swap” items during the event. Organizers say the initiative promotes sustainability while giving children access to new-to-them recreational and educational materials.Accepted donation items include complete puzzles, board books, children’s graphic novels and a range of sports gear such as shin guards, cleats, helmets, balls, bats, hockey and lacrosse sticks, as well as balance bikes and scooters.Admission is free, and advance registration is encouraged. Visit cmee.org.That’s the Earth Day Swap Party at CMEE in Bridgehampton this coming Saturday at 1 p.m. ***The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has dropped into Montauk this spring to remove wooden beach access walkways damaged in the storms of 2023 and 2024 that have since sat dilapidated and blocked off.Tucked on the edge of downtown Montauk,...