Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone's budget includes a police district tax hike.
Bellone released the budget today. While Suffolk residents won't see an increase in property taxes, the average taxpayer will pay about $34 more a year for their police force.
Bellone is touting his financial plan as a fiscally responsible one that freezes general fund taxes, creates jobs and keeps residents safe.
"For the fourth consecutive year, we've delivered a budget under the tax cap," says Bellone.
The budget also proposes fee increases. Those include the tax map verification fee increasing $60-$150, and the vehicle registration fee increasing $10-$30 or $20-$60, depending on vehicle weight.
"Any increase with fees that's included in our budget are in line with or actually less than our neighboring municipalities," says Bellone.
The county is also proposing a false-alarm fee for residents and business owners with security systems. With the permit, a resident would not be penalized for their first two false alarms. Without the permit, a fee would be charged for each false alarm.
Bellone says Suffolk police responded to 90,000 false alarms last year. The false-alarm fee is already in effect in Nassau.