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 remedies including an injunction, as it deems necessary.

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The Cutchogue Civic Association will hold a presentation on “Climate Change, Up Close and Personal: Local Stories” at the Peconic Community School, 27685 Main Road, Cutchogue this coming Thursday, Sept. 25 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Speakers include Tom Wickham, 11th generation Cutchogue fruit farmer and owner of Wickham’s Fruit Farm; Ron Goerler of Jamesport Vineyards & EAerly Rising Farm and Dennis Schrader of Landcraft Garden.

Panelists will share their stories of how climate change is impacting them, and how they are responding.

All are welcome.

This Thursday’s event is free at Peconic Community School, 27685 Main Road, Cutchogue starting at 6 p.m.

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The announcement earlier this month that Southampton Town has agreed to buy a 2.5-acre waterfront parcel on Ferry Road is not the only land preservation news for North Haven.

Stephen J. Kotz reports on 27east.com that during the North Haven Village Board’s meeting last week, Mayor Chris Fiore said the town was close to buying a 1.8-acre parcel at 3 North Haven Way and Sunset Beach Road, across the street from the Lovelady Powell property, which has been preserved as a park.

Fiore told the board that before the deal can be finalized, the North Haven Point homeowners association has to sign off on the sale by a two-thirds vote that would waive maintenance fees for the property.

Jacqueline Fenlon, the director of Southampton Town’s Community Preservation Fund, confirmed this week that the town was eyeing the property, but she would not disclose the price, saying the parties were “still in the confidential stage of the process.”

According to Southampton Town records, the property is owned by Brian Naylor and Loren Chidoni.

Mayor Fiore, who said land preservation has been one of his top priorities, told the board the town is interested in preserving a third parcel in North Haven Village, but that negotiations were still at the preliminary stage and he could not discuss where that parcel is, who owns it, or how much it would cost.

Fiore said he was excited about the recently approved purchase at 10 Ferry Road. “It’s the second, nonprivate beach access in all of North Haven, to my knowledge,” he said.

The mayor said the owner of the 10 Ferry Road parcel wanted to build a 9,000-square-foot house on the parcel. Now, he said, “it makes for a wonderful mix of recreation and natural beauty.

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Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine has proposed a $4.3 billion budget for the upcoming year that will raise taxes and sustain services amid a period of national economic uncertainty.

The budget, which was submitted late Friday to the Republican-controlled Suffolk County Legislature for review, would rise about 5.2% from the current $4 billion. The additional spending is attributed to increased employee benefits, such as state retirement contributions, as well as funding for public safety and social services.

Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that the budget is the second submitted under Romaine, a Republican, since taking office in 2024 and stays within the state-mandated cap on property tax increases. The average homeowner would pay $86 more per year if the budget is passed, or about 6.8%, according to the budget’s projected property tax impact.

Romaine said in a statement the goal is to make the county “safer, stronger and more affordable” and added that the budget provides a balance of “fiscal discipline and forward-thinking investments.”

The legislature’s Budget Review Office will prepare a report analyzing the budget for legislators in the coming weeks.

Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst) said the budget was due to the legislature Friday and delivered on time. He said the legislature will hold hearings on the budget during the week of Oct. 20 where lawmakers and department heads can propose changes and the public can comment.

The Suffolk County Legislature votes on adopting the budget at the Nov. 5 general meeting.

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The Riverhead Community Blood Drive will be held tomorrow from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Riverhead Fire Department headquarters.

Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that homemade baked goods will be offered to each participating donor, along with juice and water. Also, each participating donor will receive a coupon for a free scoop of ice cream from Snowflake Ice Cream Shoppe in Riverhead.

Donating blood is safe and easy. It requires one hour from registration through refreshments, according to blood drive organizers.

Appointments are preferred but walk-ins are welcome. Schedule an appointment online or call 1-800-933-2566.

Riverhead Fire Department headquarters are at 540 Roanoke Avenue, Riverhead.

New York Blood Center runs blood collections and distribution in this region. NYBC, established in 1964, is one of the largest community-based, non-profit blood collection and distribution organizations in the United States.

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A Southampton cannabis dispensary is defiantly staying open despite town officials serving the business with a cease-and-desist order for what they said is a failure to obtain town permission to operate.

Southampton Town Attorney James Burke told Newsday that the Charlie Fox dispensary, which opened last Tuesday and continued to operate throughout this weekend, had not gone through the permission process for opening a cannabis dispensary.

He said it also had not obtained any of the permits required for any new business to open that is a change in use, such as a certificate of occupancy and fire marshal inspection. The building was previously home to Hampton Car Club, a car service and repair business. The property on the north side of County Road 39 in Southampton shares a border fence with the Tuckahoe School playground.

“We don’t want people in an unsafe building,” Burke said, noting that in addition to the cease-and-desist, the business was issued numerous citations. “We were giving them the opportunity to comply.”

Charlie Fox co-founder James Mallios told Newsday that “no town permits are required” for the business to operate. The dispensary is owned by Birchwyn & Tess LLC. That company does not own the former Charlie Fox dispensary in Manhattan that was fined by the NYS Office of Cannabis Management this summer for violating cross-tier manufacturing and retail rules, according to the OCM.

“This isn’t about a ‘rogue’ dispensary — it’s about a licensed business being blocked in defiance of state law,” Mallios told Newsday. “We’re fully licensed by New York State and need no permission from Southampton to open.”

Burke said interior renovations and a change of business require a new certificate. He said the owners applied for a pre-admission approval but did not get planning board approval as required by the town for a cannabis dispensary.

Denise M. Bonilla reports in NEWSDAY that New York legalized recreational marijuana sales in 2021 but allowed local municipalities to decide whether to allow retail cannabis dispensaries in their communities.

Babylon, Brookhaven, Riverhead and Southampton are the only Long Island towns to allow recreational marijuana sales. There are currently more than a half-dozen dispensaries in operation in the towns, with several more receiving approval and poised to open.

There are more than half a dozen shops selling cannabis products in Shinnecock Tribal Territory on the south side of Montauk Highway in Southampton.

Listen to more episodes of The Long Island Daily.