Southampton - A Community Preservation Fund (CPF) Task Force created by Assemblyman Fred Thiele and State Senator Ken LaValle has made its final report to the five Peconic Bay Region Towns.

The Task Force included the State legislators, representatives from each of the five towns, and public representatives from the Nature Conservancy, L.I. Pine Barrens Society, the Group for the East End, and the Peconic Land Trust. The Task Force was created to improve administration of the CPF in light of the audit report from the State Comptroller in 2009 which was critical of actions by the Town of East Hampton to illegally utilize CPF funds to cover growing general fund deficits. The report was made to the East End Supervisors and Mayors Association at their December meeting by Assemblyman Thiele.

The report contains two major recommendations:

 • Establishment of rules and regulations to govern expenditures from the CPF for stewardship purposes.

 • Creation of a five town joint coordinating committee to (a) jointly acquire interests in land and (b) render legal opinions and interpretations to facilitate the efficient administration of the funds.

With regard to stewardship, the proposed rules would provide rules, policies and examples as to the proper use of CPF stewardship funds. Stewardship funds may be used on open space lands and historic preservation lands. These areas have been the subject of abuse and varied interpretations in the past. The proposed rules would establish one set of rules applicable to the entire Peconic Bay Region.

With regard to joint coordinating committee, an inter-municipal agreement would create the committee which could make recommendations for regional acquisitions. More importantly, the committee would be responsible for issuing legal opinions regarding the applicable use of the CPF law to specific real cases.

Thiele stated, "The Peconic Bay Regional Community Preservation Fund has been one of the most successful land acquisition programs in the nation. More than $650 million has been collected and nearly 10,000 acres preserved. It has been often copied across the state and nation. Yet, after 12 years, the State Comptroller has shown that the CPF can be victimized. In 2009, Senator LaValle and I passed a bill clarifying the law on CPF stewardship. The two proposals in this report represent the final step in ensuring the openness and transparency that is required to protect the integrity of the CPF. The work of the Task Force provides not only transparency but also uniformity among the five towns in applying the law."

"The Community Preservation Fund was enacted to protect the East End's environmental treasures," said New York State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle. "The fund's integrity and transparency demand that the report's recommendations be quickly implemented," LaValle said.

No additional State legislation is required to implement the Task Force report. The recommendations need only be approved by the five Town Boards. Thiele and LaValle expressed the hope that the Towns would act by February.