Southampton Village Board Term Extension Proposal Riles Residents

A proposal to double the terms for Southampton Village Board members from two to four years sparked a heated debate among residents at the panel’s meeting on November 9.

The proposal’s backers maintain that the goal is to provide stability to village hall, so board members can focus on doing the people’s business instead of campaigning for re-election. But critics argue that the current two-year terms preserve accountability and encourage transparency — and they also called for a public referendum on the change.

“Six months ago, five months ago, you were elected to two-year terms,” Southampton resident Jerry Bitel told the board. “You have to put this to a vote. You must let the people decide. This is not Russia. This is not Turkey.”

Many other members of the public were just as upset as Bitel, feeling as though it’s unfair for them to have to wait so long before getting the opportunity to vote on who leads the village.

“Results take time. Two years is a very short period of time for anyone to achieve results,” said Eileen Powers, the village attorney. “Longer terms assure a small degree of independence from day-to-day independence while they attempt to achieve whatever goal it is that you elected them to do. It also provides more stability of leadership within village hall.”

Board members added that New York State law bars them from putting the issue up for referendum.

“We do not allow the public to bring initiatives,” added Powers. “This has nothing to do with the board. It was a decision made when they adopted the New York State Constitution.”

The public remained undeterred.

“You could authorize a preference survey and you could agree to be bound by the preference survey,” countered Southampton resident David Rang.

The village board tabled the discussion to a later date without voting on it, and noted that if passed, it would not take effect for three years. But a proposal to increase the board’s salary also drew ire. The mayor’s salary would be set to increase to around 35% more than several neighboring village’s mayor salaries.