The Town will employ new Zoom protocols after an intrusion at a meeting that resulted in a police investigation. The new rules aim to prevent further incidents while still enabling Islanders to participate remotely in discussions.
“All meetings will have a waiting room enabled,” Supervisor Gerry Siller said. In addition, attendees must:
- display their first and last name (the host can re-name individuals, if necessary)
- turn off their cameras
- use the “raise hand” feature
- stay muted prompted to join the discussion
He said the Town will continue to review the policy as needed to “enhance public participation without disruption.”
[Editor’s Note: In a special meeting held during Tuesday’s work session, the Town Board also gave The Ram’s Head Inn 30 days to remove a dock on Town property — read our coverage here. Also, the Town Attorney and Supervisor addressed published falsehoods; find that story here.]
Moorings workflow proposal
Councilwoman BJ Ianfolla proposed a new process for mooring applications. The goal is to improve the Town’s moorings database and, in turn, enhance communications and code compliance.
“This is an effort to streamline the process, make it easier for the public, but also make it more efficient here at Town Hall, in terms of records,” Ianfolla said.
Under the adjusted workflow, bay constables and the Waterways Management Advisory Council clerk would play a more significant role in shepherding applications. Another benefit would be making the waitlist visible online.
“If you’re on a waitlist, you should be able to see where you are on the waitlist,” said Councilman Jim Colligan, who serves as a Town Board liaison to the WMAC with Ianfolla.
Town Clerk Dorothy Ogar reminded the Town Board that some aspects couldn’t be automated. Ianfolla agreed. “It doesn’t eliminate the need for a human being to look at it.”
Siller added that improvements to the database would enable the Town Clerk’s office to better direct bay constables as gear is installed and abandoned.
“That can be very easily arranged,” Ogar said.
(You can see a draft version here on the Town Board’s webpage devoted to upcoming hearings and pending laws.)
Ianfolla will circulate the draft and gather feedback. She’ll also seek input on Town Code changes to make the moorings process responsive. WMAC chair John Needham defended the committee’s work managing 800+ moorings in three major harbors.
The new process should relieve the WMAC of running down clerical details, Ianfolla said, so members can focus their attention on “the suitability of moorings” and making policy recommendations.
Ethics Board coming soon
Siller said the Town Board has been interviewing candidates for the Ethics Board, a three-member committee appointed by the Town Board to provide independent advisory opinions on ethical matters, such as conflicts of interest.
Once the board appoints the three members, they’ll review the Town Code of Ethics and make recommendations to the Town Board, including possibly adding members.
Ogar said the current Ethics Board members appointed in the 1990s have often been called upon to give non-binding, confidential advisory opinions on sensitive matters.
Boosting veterans property tax exemptions
Ianfolla followed up on a proposal floated by Jim Preston at a previous meeting to boost Town property tax exemptions for veterans to match the maximum allowed under state law.
| Wartime Vets | Combat Vets | Disabled Vets | |
| Current exemption here | $54,000 | $36,000 | $180,000 |
| Raise to maximum allowed | $75,000 | $50,000 | $250,000 |
The exemptions, which require certification on the veteran’s part, work to discount the property’s assessed value. So if Shelter Island’s 70 wartime veterans got the maximum allowed, the rest of the taxpayers would share the $1.47 million additional cost.
Spread over some $3 billion in assessed value, “it’s not something the rest of us would even feel,” Ianfolla said.
The Town assessors must submit a formal request to the Town Board for the new exemptions to take effect. Ianfolla said she’d encourage the school also to extend the exemption.
GASB 75
Deputy Supervisor Amber Brach-Williams, an accountant who manages the budget with Town finance staff, reported updates to Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement 75. The Town is nearing a threshold for updating how it reports Other Post-Employment Benefits.
Once the Town manages such benefits for 100 employees, it will have to hire an independent firm to improve accounting and financial reporting on OPEB, which includes non-pension benefits received post-employment such as health benefits and other items not part of a pension plan.
Brach-Wiliams said that the town’s procurement policy requires three written quotes for proposals over $4,999, and three solicitations were issued. However, only two quotes have come back. The Town Attorney confirmed that Brach-Williams should wait before soliciting an additional quote.
Board member reports
Councilwoman Meg Larsen reported on the Suffolk County Water Authority’s proposed 40-year lease agreement to run the Town-owned West Neck Water system. Larsen is a Town Board liaison to the Water Advisory Committee, which discussed the pending deal on Monday (see our SCWA/WNW lease coverage here).
“They were in support of finalizing the lease agreement,” Larsen said. “They all expressed a degree of caution, urging the board to use the remaining brief extension of the [current short-term operating agreement] to add appropriate, mutually-agreeable language to set a strong expectation of timely notification from SCWA and collaborative consultation with the Town on water supply system expansions.”
Larsen also reported on the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee. The volunteer panel met Monday to work on a draft Comprehensive Plan outline and vision statement (read our CPAC coverage here). CPAC planned an extra meeting on March 14 for reviewing work to date to determine what additional data is needed. Find details on the Comprehensive Plan Update page on the Town website.
Brach-Williams said the Town Board is continuing to interview candidates for the new Community Housing Fund Advisory Board; people with expertise in construction and banking are needed. Once the board has seven members (it has six now), it can begin to meet to develop a Community Housing plan for Shelter Island. A goal is to complete the work in time for a referendum in the November General Election on whether Shelter Island should enact a new half-percent real estate transfer tax to fund housing under the plan.
Colligan said the Deer & Tick Committee was awaiting a deer count to occur in a flyover that’s been repeatedly postponed due to poor weather. As a representative to the Health & Wellness Alliance, Colligan has done an analysis of the Town Social Worker in support of moving the part-time office to the Town Medical Center.
Colligan also reported on a recent meeting of East End water advocates to share information about the Shelter Island Heights Property Owners Corporation proposal to use treated effluent from its wastewater facility to “fertigate” the golf course at Shelter Island Country Club. The project has stalled because further study is needed to assess the potential impact on surrounding wells.
The Town is to review two options for improving water quality at Fresh Pond; both solutions involve properties purchased using Community Preservation Fund revenues, Colligan said. Officials continue to investigate options for siting a wastewater treatment facility to serve eight municipal buildings in the Town Center, he said.
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