Dan's Papers - August 22, 2008 - McGintee Starts To Revive Budget, Career

Reports of Town of East Hampton Supervisor William McGintee's political demise are premature. According to his aide, Lynn Ryan, McGintee is now focused on leading the town out of a budget mess that many accuse him of creating. However, Ryan believes that the next few months may end up being McGintee's finest hour. With the actual number due in on September 30, Ryan said the supervisor is approaching the deficit-creating town budget with a plan to close the gap created over the last few years by raising taxes, raising fees and getting a firm handle on town health care costs.

On the topic of the often scandalous headlines that have announced the town's financial plight, Ryan believes time will reveal what she called a "trickle-up theory," meaning that huge budget deficits are now appearing in the county (she put the number at $150 million), the state and, of course, the country, given the record-breaking federal deficit of over one trillion dollars forecasted for 2008.

"The supervisor has a plan, and if the board goes along with his plan, things will work out," Ryan said. The theory is that McGintee - much maligned in recent months for budget deficits and a revenue shortfall - has an opportunity to lead the town through a crisis that was not totally his making. Bad management of the town's financial situation may have stretched back through a few administrations. Ryan said the supervisor regrets not sticking to his 24% tax increase proposal in 2005, after the board expressed no support for it, and said, "This time, if the board follows the supervisor's recommendations, all will be in good shape."

On the other side of the fence, many believe there's a credibility problem - some citizens are calling for McGintee's immediate resignation, going as far as circulating petitions in front of the town post office.

With, as Ryan called it, "the most public budget process in all of Long Island about to start and to be concluded with three televised public sessions," a serious amount of posturing will no doubt take place. How McGintee weathers the storm and captains the ship will determine his political future and his legacy.

Amazingly enough, according to Ryan the town has no plans to discontinue infrastructure programs already started, including the completion of the historical town hall space, which Ryan said was, "just the interiors and the glass atrium away from completion." However the town's internal health insurance structure is going to be revisited because, as it stands now, its cost cannot be controlled nor contained. Under the mantra that "East Hampton is no longer a small town," bold steps are going to be taken to put in new systems to run the town. The supervisor is hedging his bets that if these new systems put a new handle on managing town affairs, at the end of the day his leadership under intense and sometimes unfair criticism will not deter him from steering the ship through this political and financial storm.

One thing most have to admit: McGintee isn't a quitter or a whiner. In past meetings, when confronted with overt contempt as opponents tried to make him look inept, aloof and out of control, McGintee has stayed the course.

Ryan is highly focused on, if not obsessed with, the fees the town charges for weddings, beach stickers and housing permits. She believes they are too low, and in some instances - like beach parties and weddings - the low fees cause the town to lose money due to police overtime to supervise traffic and safety for the events. She puts fees revenue at around $1 million out of an approximate $57 million budget. She believes the highly popular and successful seniors programs cost money and must be funded.

So, as the forecasted budget numbers start to trickle in, aiming at the September 30 D-day announcement, the supervisor plans on tipping off the board as soon as possible so that a coherent plan can be drawn up and the town can make the turn on grappling with the national downturn in the economy and its effect on revenues available to towns, counties, states and the federal government. So as the clock ticks, the town prepares to face down its worst financial crisis, although Ryan said, "The town hasn't even begun to tap its financial resources. That's what Moody's said."

McGintee must show his mettle in the upcoming month. He has an opportunity to resurrect a political career many believe is already over.