Why Incorporate?

WHY INCORPORATE?

  • Keep taxes low for the long term.  Protect East Quogue from over development and increased density.
  • Protect your families, your homes and your community by having a legal standing and local representation.
  • Enjoy local control by East Quogue, non-partisan, unpaid elected officials who are not career politicians who live outside of East Quogue.
  • Put the focus on issues important to the community and address them quickly, like the Damascus Dump water quality issue and the need for access to public water for everyone in the community.
  • Keep localized revenues, like building permits, utilities, mortgage tax and sales taxes in the community to improve services.
  • East Quogue, with only about 8% of the Town of Southampton-wide vote for Supervisor and Board members, lives under the authority of a partisan, distant government we do not elect.
  • The unincorporated area, and not the villages, pays the majority of Town taxes yet the villages have the same vote in Town elections.  This provides advantages to incumbents who cater to political agendas versus those who would focus on East Quogue and other unincorporated hamlets.
  • The result is a Town government that can ignore East Quogue’s priorities without repercussions. This has a negative impact on East Quogue’s infrastructure, quality of life, taxes, and ultimately, property values.

WHAT DO WE GAIN?

  • Our village government will represent 100% of East Quogue’s voting population, just as it does for our school and fire boards, and prioritize accordingly.
  • Like the other 7 villages in Southampton, the Village of East Quogue will self-govern with our own accountable mayor, board of trustees, and zoning board.
  • The Town has no authority regarding land-use, spending, or service levels in the seven existing Southampton  villages, and similarly would no longer have such power over the Village of East Quogue.
  • The Village of East Quogue can create long-term financial and comprehensive land-use plans that would bring stability to taxes and predictability to future development and services.
  • Incorporating would provide the East Quogue community with the intangible benefits of a village-based identity beyond the school district, with opportunities for greater civic engagement.