Small Price To Pay

This November, voters in Suffolk County will have the opportunity to vote on perhaps the most consequential referendum ever put on the ballot here.

The measure, if approved by voters, will increase sales tax in the county from 8.625 percent to 8.75 percent, and the extra revenue will be dedicated to funding both sewage infrastructure and innovative/alternative septic systems for private homes. The additional cost to taxpayers is just one-eighth of a penny on each dollar spent on purchases that are subject to sales tax. To call it a small price to pay for clean water would be an understatement.

The biggest obstacle to getting Suffolk County homes and businesses off outdated septic systems and onto sewers and I/A systems that reduce nitrogen and contaminants in wastewater has been a consistent funding source. This sales tax, while negligible for consumers on individual purchases, will add up fast and open opportunities to replace aging cesspools with infrastructure that’s up to modern standards.

Clean water infrastructure will protect our drinking water while also protecting our economy and way of life on the East End — namely, our maritime industries and water-based recreation. It will also allow for more “wet uses” in our business districts, which means more restaurants to liven flagging downtowns. It will also enable affordable apartments above businesses. For every dollar spent on sewers, the return in economic stimulus will be exponential.

When new Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, a Republican, and Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey, a fellow Republican, celebrated the bipartisan clean water deal earlier this month, there was a sad truth looming that needs to be pointed out.

The fact is, this measure belonged on the 2023 ballot, but it was killed for cynical, partisan reasons. Ostensibly, it failed to move forward over concerns about how the revenue would be split between sewers and I/A systems. But what really held it back were concerns that a clean water ballot measure would bring to the polls more environmentally inclined voters, who would likely cast more ballots for Democrats than Republicans when the county executive seat and control of the County Legislature were at stake.

“Clean water is a bipartisan issue, one that cannot be affected by politics, and we came together to provide a better environment for this and future generations,” McCaffrey said during this month’s press conference.

It’s a nice sentiment, but, unfortunately, it hasn’t been the reality. Politics potentially cost the county a year of tax revenue for an essential effort to save our environment.