Southampton cannabis dispensary stays open despite cease-and-desist

Long Island's towns and cities spent $341.3 million on employee and retiree health care premiums in 2024, nearly 12% more than in 2023, while state-set rate hikes quadrupled in recent years, a Newsday analysis found.

Premium costs for Long Island's 13 towns and two cities have climbed since 2021, according to data from the state Department of Civil Service, which administers health insurance to town and city employees. The municipalities paid a total of $341.3 million in 2024, an 11.8% increase over the 2023 Nassau / Suffolk total of $305.4 million.

Joseph Ostapiuk reports in NEWSDAY that the increased spending comes as the state has hiked premiums between 2021 and 2024 by a larger amount each year. Rates for the New York State Health Insurance Plan rose by 2.2% in 2021, 7.4% in 2022, 8.6% in 2023 and 8.9% in 2024.

Health insurance costs rose by 20% in 2024 over 2023 in three towns on Long Island's East End: Shelter Island, by 25%; East Hampton, at 22%; and Southampton, which had a 20% jump.

Becky Hansen, East Hampton's administrator and budget officer, said the town has tried twice to find a better alternative to the New York State Health Insurance Plan {NYSHIP} through a competitive bidding process. The efforts were unsuccessful, she told NEWSDAY. "That was kind of disappointing," Hansen said. "Yes, it's expensive for us as the employer, but it's also expensive for employees, too." Next year, the Town of East Hampton plans to allow retirees to use accrued sick leave to pay down health insurance premiums through the use of a state Civil Service law.

Governments would also benefit, she said, if the State Legislature allowed towns and cities to stash money in a reserve fund dedicated to health insurance costs.

"Because otherwise, health insurance is pay as you go," Hansen said. "We fund it during that year, we pay for it during that year."

NYSHIP sets its annual rates in December, generally weeks after towns and cities have approved their budgets for the following year.

That means towns and cities are setting budgets without knowing the exact cost of health insurance in the year ahead.

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The owner of the Youngs Avenue site in Calverton where organic materials have been stockpiled by a Nassau County waste management company has agreed to remove the materials over a two -week period beginning today.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Joseph DeFigueroa, owner of both Patriot Recycling and Youngs Avenue LLC, the company that purchased 45 acres of preserved farmland off Youngs Avenue in Calverton, has signed a stipulation with the Town of Riverhead requiring the removal of the approximately 3,000 cubic yards of materials from the site, Riverhead Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard announced Friday afternoon.

The stipulation between Patriot and the Town of Riverhead requires the company to pay upfront the $1,650 cost of environmental consultant Jeffrey Seeman, hired by the town at $165 per hour to monitor the removal activity.

Patriot is prohibited by the terms of the agreement from bringing any other materials onto the site.

The owner said removal of the material will begin on Monday, Sept. 22…that’s today…and will take several days to complete, according to the press release. The agreement requires removal of stockpiled materials to be completed within 14 days from the commencement of removal.

The stipulation states that it does not settle any of the outstanding tickets now pending in Riverhead Justice Court, which were issued for alleged town code violations. Patriot in the stipulation acknowledges the alleged violations. The town will pursue disposition of the violations, including applicable penalties, in Justice Court, according to the stipulation.

The stipulation also does not prevent the town from issuing additional tickets for future alleged violations or pursuing other...