Village of Dering Harbor
Board of Trustees
Special Meeting Minutes
April 17th, 2026, 10:00 AM

• The meeting was called to order at 10:07am.
• Attendance- Samuel Ashner (Deputy Mayor), Karen Kelsey, Tom Kusner; absent- Ari Benacerraf, Eric Deutsch; Vicki Shields (Village clerk), Susan Dempsey (Shelter Island Reporter)
• Old Business

a. A motion to reopen the Public Hearing to hear any and all persons either for or against the Annual Estimated and Tentative Budget for FY 2026/27 was moved by Karen and seconded by Tom. All Board members present voted in favor.
There were no public comments.
A motion to close the Public Hearing was made by Karen and seconded by Tom. All Board members present voted in favor.

b. A motion to adopt the Annual Estimated and Tentative Budget for FY 2026/27 was moved by Karen.Before voting Tom had some questions for his own understanding, since he was not at the preliminary meetings regarding the budegt:
-Tom asked Sam about the increase in real property taxes and permit fees. Sam explained that he used a calculation based on what the Village real taxes are, what the Village’s expenses, offset by whatever revenue the Village has. Regarding permit fees, it’s a forecast based on prior years. Sam noted that the Taxable Assesed Value did go up because the Town of Shelter Island recently did a re-assessment.
-Tom asked Sam where he derived the CHIPS number from? The amount is what was not used in the prior FY (the “rollover” amount) pluc what the Village anticipates will be allocated by the NY State based on previous year’s allocations.
-Tom asked about the “celebration expense” and why money is no longer allocated in that line. Sam explained that the last time the village held a cocktail party, it wasn’t very well-attended. The idea is that if the village wants to host something, it could be a potluck at someone’s house.
-On the expense side, it seems to Tom that more needs to be allocated in the buget for office supplies, especially storage for files. Vicki said she had been talking to Chris Talbot about that on Wednesday and he told her about some file cabinets that the Town of Southold may be getting rid of.
-Karen thanked Sam for all his hard work in preparing the budget.
Tom seconded the motion on the table. All Board members present voted in favor.

• Date for next regular Trustees meeting –Saturday, May 9th , 2026 at 9:00AM
• A motion to adjourn at 10:22am was moved by Karen and seconded by Tom. All Board members present voted in favor.