Mayor submits two FY27 budgets, asks voters to consider $6.9M override

Mayor Salem Derby presented the proposed municipal budgets for fiscal year 2027 to the City Council on May 6 and asked the council and residents to engage in the review process ahead of a June vote on a $6.9 million Proposition 2'5 override.

The mayor said East Hampton faces a structural general‑fund deficit of roughly $6.5 million driven by fixed cost growth (health insurance, contractual wages, special education, and debt service). He submitted two balanced scenarios: Budget A, which assumes voter approval of a $6.9 million override and preserves most services, and Budget B, a severely cut alternative that reduces services and relies on one‑time draws from stabilization funds.

"This is the most consequential budget I will submit," the mayor said, and urged residents to attend committee hearings and public forums. The mayor's narrative included line‑by‑line assumptions: departmental expenditures benchmarked to the governor's house one; local aid estimates; a $200,000 new‑growth conservative estimate; and health premium increases noted at 12.48 percent per the regional rate notice.

The council voted to send both the proposed and the reduced municipal budgets to the finance committee for detailed review and scheduled multiple department hearings across May and early June. The mayor also announced public outreach on the budget and that the town will hold community informational sessions about department budgets.

The council also signed the warrant for a special city election on June 9 that will ask voters whether to allow the additional $6.9 million in property taxes. City finance staff and the auditor clarified that if the council's final adopted budget requires less than the full $6.9 million, the use of override revenues will be adjusted accordingly and only the amount needed to balance the adopted budget will be used.

Next steps: the finance committee will hold a series of public hearings by department and is expected to return a recommendation and final budget to the full council in early June. The June 9 election will allow voters to decide whether to authorize the override that would fund Budget A.