Riverhead residents are urging the town board to reconsider a 6.7% tax hike, while town officials say the alternatives are layoffs and service cuts.

The $77.9 million budget for 2026 is expected to pierce the 2% state tax cap, an outcome Supervisor Tim Hubbard said was “unavoidable” due to contractual salary increases, as well as pension and health insurance cost increases that alone exceed the cap.

Under the proposal, the average homeowner could see their tax bills increase by $274 next year.

To stay within the cap, Hubbard said he would have had to consider 15 layoffs.

“When you lay people off, it goes back to the last ones hired, so you’re looking at younger people with young families,” he said during a hearing Thursday. “I refuse to do it.”

Residents packed a town meeting on Thu

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