In Babylon, New York, my family and I have watched our local taxes climb at an alarming rate. Just last year, residents were hit with a staggering 9.9% tax increase for 2025. Now, only a year later, Town officials are proposing another 6% increase for 2027 by overriding the very 2% tax cap that was created to protect taxpayers from excessive government spending.

Let's be clear: this is not a minor adjustment. It is a continued pattern of shifting the burden of rising costs directly onto residents. For many families, seniors, and working households, this is no longer merely frustrating. It is becoming financially unsustainable.

The Town of Babylon has long promoted itself as a place where families can afford to live, work, and build a future. Yet with every tax increase, that promise becomes harder to believe. The tax cap exists to protect residents from exactly this kind of government overreach. When elected officials repeatedly seek to bypass it, taxpayers have every right to ask whether enough effort has been made to control spending before demanding more money from residents.

Many households are already struggling with rising property taxes, insurance premiums, utility costs, groceries, and housing expenses. While some point to income statistics, higher incomes do not mean families have unlimited resources. Every additional tax increase takes money away from household budgets, retirement savings, college funds, and everyday necessities.

What makes this proposal even more concerning is that its impact extends far beyond a single year. A tax increase today becomes the foundation for future increases tomorrow. Raising taxes 9.9% one year and then seeking another 6% increase the next creates a cycle that compounds over time, placing an ever-growing burden on taxpayers.

Town officials argue that additional revenue is needed to maintain services and fund community projects. However, before asking residents to dig deeper into their pockets, the Town should first demonstrate that every reasonable effort has been made to reduce costs, eliminate wasteful spending, and prioritize essential services.

For example, the Town recently awarded a bid for decorative tower clocks in Wheatley Heights and North Babylon. While residents are being told they must pay more in taxes, projects such as these raise legitimate questions about spending priorities. Taxpayers should not be asked to absorb another increase while discretionary projects continue to move forward.

The Town should also explore reducing or eliminating certain tax incentives and abatements, including real property tax abatements, sales tax incentives, mortgage recording tax incentives, and PILOT agreements provided through entities such as the Industrial Development Agency (IDA). Residents deserve to know that every available option has been explored before government asks families to pay more.

Most troubling of all, repeatedly overriding the tax cap sets a dangerous precedent. If bypassing the cap becomes routine, what is to stop future increases from becoming even larger? At some point, residents are forced to ask whether the tax cap has any meaning at all if it can simply be ignored whenever spending exceeds expectations.

The people of Babylon deserve better. They deserve fiscal responsibility, transparency, and leaders who recognize that taxpayers are not an unlimited source of revenue.

I am calling on every resident of the Town of Babylon to speak up. Sign this petition. Attend public meetings. Contact Town officials. Make your voice heard. Tell our elected leaders that enough is enough.

Please sign this petition to REJECT the proposed 6% tax increase. RESPECT the 2% tax cap. DEMAND that Town government live within REASONBLE LIMITS, just as FAMILIES throughout Babylon are FORCED to do every day!

TOGETHER, WE CAN PROTECT OUR HOMES, OUR FAMILIES, OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, and OUR RESIDENT COMMUNITY'S FUTURE!