Islip officials on Thursday voted against adopting the proposed 2026 town budget, which would boost town taxes by $73 for the average household and require Islip to pierce the state tax cap with an 8% levy increase.

The proposed budget and tax hikes are far from dead, however. The spending proposal will automatically be adopted unless Islip’s five-member town board approves an alternative budget within two weeks, according to state law.

The current proposal includes $289 million in spending, which is an increase of about $10.5 million compared to 2025. The plan calls for Islip to pierce its 2.1% tax cap by about $8.8 million, roughly half of which is due to new employee union contracts, according to town Comptroller Joseph Ludwig.

Islip’s town board voted unanimously to approve those

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