Mattituck-Laurel Historical Society at Matituck. (Credit: Nicole Wagner)
Mattituck-Laurel Historical Society and Museums asks residents to support local history, which has been preserved since 1964 Cutchogue.
The proposal is due to the organization’s approaching financial struggles – Museum President Charles Gueli said he has been about five years before it leaves the business without help.
It has been survived for the last 15 years thanks to the donations and membership of the “generous people”, but Mr. Gueli said that society would lose $ 10,000-20,000 a year. The annual costs are usually between $ 30,000 and $ 40,000.
In total, the museum proposed $ 60,000 tax liability in the community in about 4,200 homes. Mr. Gueli said that taxes would rise $ 12-18 per home, depending on the estimates, if the tax was approved.
According to Guel, the tax payment supports maintenance and operating costs. It could also give an organization an attempt to reconcile grants to finance future projects.
Society owns and maintains a 2 -hectare package with five buildings on the corner of Road and Cardinal Drive in Mattituck: its main museum, two school houses, a carriage house and a dairy house. Their history is derived from the 18th and 19th centuries, Mr. Gueli said.
“Mattituck has a deep and I think interesting history,” Mr. Gueli said. “And I hope that most people in the area would like to access the historical information of the local community.”
If the budget fails and society cannot afford to stay open, the state would control the property, Mr. Gueli said. Museum’s objects are distributed to nearby historical societies. The state facilitates the maintenance of buildings, which is taxed or the property could be sold for development purposes.
After the original vote, Gueli said that the taxes of the historical club would not rise every year. If the rise of the rise failed, he said the museum would lose the original number of voters approved.
In contrast, schools and libraries can raise their tax liabilities on the state’s 2 % tax canopy each year with a simple majority voting. If they pierce the tax ceiling, the vote is acceptable Supermjority, 60%of the inhabitants.
In recent years, several other East end communities were approved by taxable liabilities for local historical societies, including SAG Harbor and Rocky Point. These proposals are possible through the New York State Training Act, according to which public museums are educational institutions that are valid to support in the same way as local libraries and schools.
For residents with questions about the proposed tax, Mr Gueli hosts the open house at 18200 Main Road, Mattituck, 8 October at 6 pm
“I’m happy to talk to anyone,” he said. “I mean, if they have a lottery … a place where they find local history – I think they will support it.”