Who Runs NYThe votes, the money, and the taxes — Rae Arora
Who Runs NY

Who Runs NY · Long Island · FY2026 adopted

Ice & Asphalt: cost per mile for all 13 towns

FY2026 Adopted Town Budgets ÷ 7,983.55 Official NYSDOT Town Road Miles & Census Populations.

Oyster Bay and North Hempstead sit together near $1,810 per town road mile. Oyster Bay's line is a bundled snow contract. North Hempstead's is a salt-and-sand account. The rank below keeps that difference on the card.

Island-wide snow salt / materials

$1,168 / road mile

$9,326,900 across 7,983.55 town miles · $1,168.26 unrounded

Pure salt / materials, 8 towns

$962 / road mile

$4,946,000 across 5,142.51 miles · $961.79 unrounded · led by North Hempstead at $1,809.63

Per-taxpayer cost

$4.10 / TOV resident

$3.24 town-wide · Islip $2.85 to Southampton $9.61

All-in snow removal, 5142

$2,844 / road mile

$21,465,193 on 7,546.88 miles · $2,844.25 unrounded · Hempstead leads at $4,501.03

Ranked by cost per mile

#1

Oyster Bay

NASSAU Bundled snow contractual
$1,810.27per road mile
Salt / materials
$1,308,900 Snow Removal (acct 48900) — salt not separately published
Town road miles
723.04 mi 1,468.89 lane mi
Per resident
$5.41 / TOV · $4.35 / town-wide 5.4086 and 4.3468 unrounded
All-in 5142
$2,018,128 all-in · $2,791.17/mi

DB 5142 / 48900 · Adopted p. 103

#2

North Hempstead

NASSAU Explicit salt / sand2027 tentative $500,000 → $650,000
$1,809.63per road mile
Salt / materials
$500,000 SAND, SALT ETC.
Town road miles
276.30 mi 613.94 lane mi
Per resident
$4.98 / TOV · $2.09 / town-wide 4.9762 and 2.0922 unrounded
All-in 5142
$1,170,000 all-in · $4,234.53/mi

DA.07.5142.4690 · lines 3258-3264

#3

Hempstead

NASSAU Bundled snow contractual2027 tentative $2,000,000 → $2,500,000
$1,698.12per road mile
Salt / materials
$2,000,000 SNOW REMOVAL (contractual — salt not separately published)
Town road miles
1,177.77 mi 2,356.69 lane mi
Per resident
$3.87 / TOV · $2.51 / town-wide 3.8746 and 2.5134 unrounded
All-in 5142
$5,301,174 all-in · $4,501.03/mi

F041 / Dept 51400 / 641940 · Adopted p. 107

#4

Southampton

SUFFOLK Explicit salt / sand
$1,305.33per road mile
Salt / materials
$570,000 $450,000 salt + $110,000 sand + $10,000 chemicals
Town road miles
436.67 mi 871.61 lane mi
Per resident
$9.61 / TOV · $7.96 / town-wide 9.6068 and 7.9608 unrounded
All-in 5142
No separate 5142 — de-icing sits inside Highway 5110

5110.6446 Sand + 5110.6447 Salt + 5110.6448 Chemicals · Adopted p. 83

#5

Babylon

SUFFOLK Bundled snow contractual
$1,226.95per road mile
Salt / materials
$650,000 Program operations (acct 47) under Snow Removal — salt not labeled
Town road miles
529.77 mi 1,066.64 lane mi
Per resident
$3.81 / TOV · $2.96 / town-wide 3.8139 and 2.9577 unrounded
All-in 5142
$1,485,000 all-in · $2,803.10/mi

DB 5142 / 47 · Adopted p. 50

#6

Riverhead

SUFFOLK Bundled snow contractual
$1,076.50per road mile
Salt / materials
$225,000 Snow - Contractual
Town road miles
209.01 mi 419.21 lane mi
Per resident
$6.18 / TOV · $6.18 / town-wide 6.1823 and 6.1823 unrounded
All-in 5142
$300,000 all-in · $1,435.34/mi

DA1-5-5142-400-000-00000

#7

Smithtown

SUFFOLK Explicit salt / sand2027 tentative $500,000 → $800,000
$1,063.99per road mile
Salt / materials
$500,000 SAND/ SALT
Town road miles
469.93 mi 939.31 lane mi
Per resident
$4.47 / TOV · $4.28 / town-wide 4.4657 and 4.2791 unrounded
All-in 5142
$1,025,194 all-in · $2,181.59/mi

DS.5142.0401 · print p. 85 / PDF p. 103

#8

Huntington

SUFFOLK Snow supplies / materials
$990.06per road mile
Salt / materials
$800,000 Snow Removal Materials
Town road miles
808.03 mi 1,615.26 lane mi
Per resident
$4.15 / TOV · $3.89 / town-wide 4.1475 and 3.8856 unrounded
All-in 5142
$2,981,745 all-in · $3,690.14/mi

DB5142.4350 · print p. 350 / PDF p. 358

#9

Southold

SUFFOLK Bundled snow contractual
$977.91per road mile
Salt / materials
$197,000 CONTRACTUAL EXPENSE (DB5142.4) — salt not separately published
Town road miles
201.45 mi 402.09 lane mi
Per resident
$9.09 / TOV · $8.12 / town-wide 9.0909 and 8.1204 unrounded
All-in 5142
$387,000 all-in · $1,921.07/mi

DB5142.4 · Adopted p. 20

#10

Islip

SUFFOLK Explicit salt / sand
$950.10per road mile
Salt / materials
$950,000 $900,000 salt + $50,000 sand
Town road miles
999.90 mi 2,006.60 lane mi
Per resident
$2.85 / TOV · $2.79 / town-wide 2.8474 and 2.7870 unrounded
All-in 5142
$3,025,000 all-in · $3,025.30/mi

DB.5142.41980 (SALT) + DB.5142.41981 (SAND) · print p. 196 / PDF p. 331

#11

Brookhaven

SUFFOLK Explicit salt / sand
$770.87per road mile
Salt / materials
$1,400,000 Snow And Ice Materials
Town road miles
1,816.13 mi 3,614.66 lane mi
Per resident
$3.05 / TOV · $2.82 / town-wide 3.0499 and 2.8202 unrounded
All-in 5142
$3,419,574 all-in · $1,882.89/mi

DB5142 / 4189

#12

East Hampton

SUFFOLK Snow supplies / materials
$681.89per road mile
Salt / materials
$195,000 SNOW REMOVAL SUPPLIES
Town road miles
285.97 mi 570.20 lane mi
Per resident
$7.36 / TOV · $6.63 / town-wide 7.3635 and 6.6327 unrounded
All-in 5142
$305,378 all-in · $1,067.87/mi

DB 5142.54750

#13

Shelter Island

SUFFOLK Explicit salt / sand
$625.25per road mile
Salt / materials
$31,000 SALT & SAND, ETC.
Town road miles
49.58 mi 99.16 lane mi
Per resident
$9.35 / TOV · $9.25 / town-wide 9.3514 and 9.2510 unrounded
All-in 5142
$47,000 all-in · $947.96/mi

DA5142.447

Nassau, Suffolk, and the village effect

The same adopted dollar buys a very different mile in a town full of incorporated villages than in a town that plows nearly every local road itself.

Nassau · 3 towns

$3,808,900

materials across 2,177.11 town miles

$1,749.52 per road mile

All-in 5142: $8,489,302 · $3,899.34 per mile

Suffolk · 10 towns

$5,518,000

materials across 5,806.44 town miles

$950.32 per road mile

Suffolk books more salt dollars on more than twice the town mileage.

North Hempstead · 276.30 town miles

Incorporated villages inside North Hempstead salt their own village streets. The town's CHIPS centerline is 276.30 miles (613.94 lane miles). The highway narrative in the adopted book says more than 280 miles, against the CHIPS figure of 276.30.

Salt and sand: $500,000 · $1,809.63 per mile · $4.98 per TOV resident. Water-district softener salt of $42,000 (code 483) and Port Washington Parking sand/salt of $1,500 stay out of this highway figure.

Brookhaven · 1,816.13 town miles

Brookhaven maintains 1,816.13 town centerline miles, the most of the 13, and more than Hempstead and North Hempstead combined (1,454.07). Its $1,400,000 explicit salt line is the second-largest materials budget and still $770.87 per mile.

Per TOV resident the same line is $3.05, near the bottom of the island, because 459,025 people live outside Brookhaven's villages.

Town centerline miles

Bar length is NYSDOT 2024 town centerline miles. Gold is Nassau. Blue is Suffolk. Village roads, county roads, and state roads are not in these miles.

Brookhaven SuffolkMost town road on the island. More than Hempstead and North Hempstead combined (1,454.07 mi).
1,816.13 mi
Hempstead Nassau
1,177.77 mi
Islip Suffolk
999.90 mi
Huntington Suffolk
808.03 mi
Oyster Bay Nassau
723.04 mi
Babylon Suffolk
529.77 mi
Smithtown Suffolk
469.93 mi
Southampton Suffolk
436.67 mi
East Hampton Suffolk
285.97 mi
North Hempstead NassauIncorporated villages salt their own streets, so the town centerline stays short.
276.30 mi
Riverhead Suffolk
209.01 mi
Southold Suffolk
201.45 mi
Shelter Island Suffolk
49.58 mi

Why dollars per resident flip on the East End

A small year-round Census population is funding hundreds of miles of coastal town road. Ranked per town-outside-village resident, the East End rises and the big western towns fall.

East End per TOV resident

Southampton 59,333 residents outside villages
$9.61
Shelter Island 3,315 residents outside villages
$9.35
Southold 21,670 residents outside villages
$9.09
East Hampton 26,482 residents outside villages
$7.36
Riverhead 36,394 residents outside villages
$6.18

Western towns per TOV resident

Hempstead 516,177 residents outside villages
$3.87
Babylon 170,428 residents outside villages
$3.81
Brookhaven 459,025 residents outside villages
$3.05
Islip 333,640 residents outside villages
$2.85

Islip is the low end at $2.85 per TOV resident (2.8474 unrounded) on 999.90 miles. Southampton is the high end at $9.61 (9.6068) on 436.67 miles and 59,333 TOV residents. Shelter Island is $9.35 on 3,315 TOV residents. Southold is $9.09. East Hampton is $7.36. Hempstead is $3.87. Babylon is $3.81. Brookhaven is $3.05.

Where the winter dollar goes

Salt is one slice of the snow department. In the towns that itemize 5142, overtime and hired plows are often the larger lines. Bar length is the town's all-in snow total compared with Hempstead ($5,301,174). Colors are the share inside that town. Bundled contractual lines stay in the salt/materials color because the book does not split salt from hired plows.

Salt / materialsSnow labor & overtimeHired plows / equipment rentalOther / transfers
Hempstead Nassau · $5,301,174 all-in
Snow contractual line (salt and hired plows together) $2,000,000Other contractual in Highway #4 $1,629,250Snow removal wages $500,000Interfund debt transfers $1,171,924
North Hempstead Nassau · $1,170,000 all-in
Sand, salt, etc. $500,000Rest of highway snow removal $620,000Parks snow overtime $40,000Admin services snow overtime $10,000
Huntington Suffolk · $2,981,745 all-in
Regular Salaries $500,000Overtime Salaries $830,000Motor Vehicle Rentals $750,000Snow Removal Materials $800,000Social Security $101,745
Islip Suffolk · $3,025,000 all-in
SNOW OVERTIME $925,000SALT.. $900,000SAND.. $50,000EQUIPMENT RENTAL... $1,150,000
Oyster Bay Nassau · $2,018,128 all-in
Salaries Overtime $400,000Parts $60,000Unallocated Insurance $18,019Other Expenses $3,000Snow Removal $1,308,900Administration Costs $198,209Social Security $30,000
Babylon Suffolk · $1,485,000 all-in
Full time labor $200,000Part time labor $10,000Overtime $600,000Equipment $25,000Program operations $650,000
Smithtown Suffolk · $1,025,194 all-in
OVERTIME SALARY $115,194SAND/ SALT $500,000PATCHING $85,000DISPOSAL STREET SWEEPINGS $175,000EQUIPMENT RENTAL $150,000
Southold Suffolk · $387,000 all-in
PERSONAL SERVICES $170,000EQUIPMENT $20,000CONTRACTUAL EXPENSE $197,000
Riverhead Suffolk · $300,000 all-in
Snow - Personal Services OT $75,000Snow - Contractual $225,000
Shelter Island Suffolk · $47,000 all-in
PERSONAL SERVICES $16,000SALT & SAND, ETC. $31,000

Islip books $900,000 salt and $50,000 sand against $925,000 snow overtime and $1,150,000 equipment rental. Huntington books $800,000 snow-removal materials, $1,330,000 in regular and overtime salaries, $750,000 in motor-vehicle rentals, and $101,745 in Social Security. Brookhaven publishes department totals rather than this split: DA5142 $321,459 and DB5142 $3,098,115, with the $1,400,000 snow-and-ice materials line inside the DB total. East Hampton's 5142 total is $305,378, including $195,000 snow-removal supplies, without a further split. Southampton has no 5142 department.

January 1, 2027, mid-winter budget watch

New York towns budget on a calendar year. The FY2026 adopted books govern November and December 2026. FY2027 books govern January through March 2027, the rest of this winter. Three towns have a verified tentative or preliminary shift on the materials line. Per-mile figures divide those tentative dollars by the same 2024 CHIPS town miles.

Hempstead

+25%

The Highway #4 snow contractual line moves from $2,000,000 to $2,500,000. Per mile that is $1,698.12 to $2,122.66 (about $1,698 to $2,123). All-in Highway #4 moves from $5,301,174 to about $5.72 million.

FY2026 adopted
$2,000,000$1,698.12/mi
FY2027 tentative
$2,500,000$2,122.66/mi

F041 / Dept 51400 / 641940 · Adopted p. 107

North Hempstead

+30%

Sand, salt, etc. moves from $500,000 to $650,000. Per mile that is $1,809.63 to $2,352.52 (about $1,810 to $2,353) on 276.30 town miles.

FY2026 adopted
$500,000$1,809.63/mi
FY2027 tentative
$650,000$2,352.52/mi

DA.07.5142.4690 · lines 3258-3264

Smithtown

+60%

The 2027 tentative sand/salt line is $800,000, 60% above the FY2026 adopted start of $500,000. Per mile that is $1,063.99 to $1,702.38 (about $1,064 to $1,702). During 2026 the line was adjusted to $1,091,372. The 60% figure is measured from the adopted start of $500,000, the figure in the ranking above.

FY2026 adopted
$500,000$1,063.99/mi
FY2027 tentative
$800,000$1,702.38/mi

DS.5142.0401 · print p. 85 / PDF p. 103

All 13 towns

Click a column to sort. Dollars per resident in small type are the unrounded rates. A dash means the adopted book has no 5142 snow department.

3HempsteadNassauBundled snow contractual$2,000,0001,177.772,356.69$1,698.12$3.87 3.8746$2.51 2.5134$5,301,174$4,501.03795,734516,177F041 / Dept 51400 / 641940 · Adopted p. 107
2North HempsteadNassauExplicit salt / sand$500,000276.30613.94$1,809.63$4.98 4.9762$2.09 2.0922$1,170,000$4,234.53238,982100,478DA.07.5142.4690 · lines 3258-3264
1Oyster BayNassauBundled snow contractual$1,308,900723.041,468.89$1,810.27$5.41 5.4086$4.35 4.3468$2,018,128$2,791.17301,115242,004DB 5142 / 48900 · Adopted p. 103
5BabylonSuffolkBundled snow contractual$650,000529.771,066.64$1,226.95$3.81 3.8139$2.96 2.9577$1,485,000$2,803.10219,766170,428DB 5142 / 47 · Adopted p. 50
11BrookhavenSuffolkExplicit salt / sand$1,400,0001,816.133,614.66$770.87$3.05 3.0499$2.82 2.8202$3,419,574$1,882.89496,410459,025DB5142 / 4189
12East HamptonSuffolkSnow supplies / materials$195,000285.97570.20$681.89$7.36 7.3635$6.63 6.6327$305,378$1,067.8729,40026,482DB 5142.54750
8HuntingtonSuffolkSnow supplies / materials$800,000808.031,615.26$990.06$4.15 4.1475$3.89 3.8856$2,981,745$3,690.14205,891192,885DB5142.4350 · print p. 350 / PDF p. 358
10IslipSuffolkExplicit salt / sand$950,000999.902,006.60$950.10$2.85 2.8474$2.79 2.7870$3,025,000$3,025.30340,867333,640DB.5142.41980 (SALT) + DB.5142.41981 (SAND) · print p. 196 / PDF p. 331
6RiverheadSuffolkBundled snow contractual$225,000209.01419.21$1,076.50$6.18 6.1823$6.18 6.1823$300,000$1,435.3436,39436,394DA1-5-5142-400-000-00000
13Shelter IslandSuffolkExplicit salt / sand$31,00049.5899.16$625.25$9.35 9.3514$9.25 9.2510$47,000$947.963,3513,315DA5142.447
7SmithtownSuffolkExplicit salt / sand$500,000469.93939.31$1,063.99$4.47 4.4657$4.28 4.2791$1,025,194$2,181.59116,847111,964DS.5142.0401 · print p. 85 / PDF p. 103
4SouthamptonSuffolkExplicit salt / sand$570,000436.67871.61$1,305.33$9.61 9.6068$7.96 7.9608——71,60159,3335110.6446 Sand + 5110.6447 Salt + 5110.6448 Chemicals · Adopted p. 83
9SoutholdSuffolkBundled snow contractual$197,000201.45402.09$977.91$9.09 9.0909$8.12 8.1204$387,000$1,921.0724,26021,670DB5142.4 · Adopted p. 20

Methodology and primary sources

Every figure in the ranking is an FY2026 adopted appropriation, not a paid invoice. The materials number is the most specific snow-materials line each town prints. Six towns name salt or sand. Two print a snow-removal supplies or materials line. Five print one contractual snow line that covers salt and hired plows together. Those five ranks are the cost of that whole line per mile.

Road miles are NYSDOT CHIPS formula inputs for the 2024 calendar year: town centerline miles, which leave out state, county, and village roads. The 13 towns sum to 7,983.55 centerline miles and 16,044.26 lane miles. Population is the Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimate for July 1, 2025: 2,880,618 town-wide and 2,273,795 outside villages. Town-wide includes people who live in villages. The per-resident cards show both. Cities are outside the 13-town totals.

Island-wide materials are $9,326,900, or $1,168.26 per town mile (shown as $1,168). The eight towns with a salt, sand, or snow-materials line, leaving out the five bundled contracts, sum to $4,946,000 across 5,142.51 miles, $961.79 per mile (shown as $962), led by North Hempstead at $1,809.63. The six explicit salt/sand towns alone sum to $3,951,000. All-in 5142 for the 12 towns that have the department is $21,465,193. Across their 7,546.88 miles, excluding Southampton, that is $2,844.25 per mile (shown as $2,844). Per resident the materials total is $4.10 outside villages and $3.24 town-wide.

Left out on purpose: Islip's MacArthur Airport runway de-icing line, CT.5610.41840 sand, salt, and chemicals, $37,880. North Hempstead water-district softener salt, $42,000 (code 483), and Port Washington Parking sand/salt, $1,500. Huntington's separate buildings-and-grounds snow materials are facility snow, not town-road salt. Oyster Bay's Highway 5110 sand, stone, and gravel line is $1,000 of construction aggregate.

City of Glen Cove, not in the 13-town totals: 2026 adopted general supplies under A5142 of $75,000 and total snow removal of $150,000. The City of Long Beach proposed book does not show a 5142 or salt line in its text layer.

Smithtown's adopted starting sand/salt appropriation is $500,000. A mid-year 2026 adjusted figure of $1,091,372 appears in the 2027 tentative comparison columns and is not the adopted starting line used in the rank.

  • Hempstead — F041 / Dept 51400 / 641940 · Adopted p. 107 — nassau-hempstead/hempstead-2026-adopted.pdf
  • North Hempstead — DA.07.5142.4690 · lines 3258-3264 — nassau-north-hempstead/north-hempstead-2026-adopted.pdf
  • Oyster Bay — DB 5142 / 48900 · Adopted p. 103 — nassau-oyster-bay/oyster-bay-2026-adopted.pdf
  • Babylon — DB 5142 / 47 · Adopted p. 50 — suffolk-babylon/babylon-2026-adopted.pdf
  • Brookhaven — DB5142 / 4189 — suffolk-brookhaven/brookhaven-2026-adopted.pdf
  • East Hampton — DB 5142.54750 — suffolk-east-hampton/east-hampton-2026-adopted.pdf
  • Huntington — DB5142.4350 · print p. 350 / PDF p. 358 — suffolk-huntington/huntington-2026-adopted.pdf
  • Islip — DB.5142.41980 (SALT) + DB.5142.41981 (SAND) · print p. 196 / PDF p. 331 — suffolk-islip/islip-2026-adopted.pdf
  • Riverhead — DA1-5-5142-400-000-00000 — suffolk-riverhead/riverhead-2026-adopted.pdf
  • Shelter Island — DA5142.447 — suffolk-shelter-island/shelter-island-2026-adopted.pdf
  • Smithtown — DS.5142.0401 · print p. 85 / PDF p. 103 — suffolk-smithtown/smithtown-2026-adopted.pdf
  • Southampton — 5110.6446 Sand + 5110.6447 Salt + 5110.6448 Chemicals · Adopted p. 83 — DocumentCenter/View/42533/15-Highway-Department---Adopted (Highway Maintenance 5110)
  • Southold — DB5142.4 · Adopted p. 20 — suffolk-southold/southold-2026-adopted.pdf (+ 2026 Preliminary searchable departmental detail)

Census Vintage 2025 subcounty population estimates (sub-est2025_36.csv)
NYSDOT CHIPS formula data inputs (2024 town centerline and lane miles)

All 13 town budgets, line by line · Town vehicles · Hempstead budget overview · About · Contact · Privacy · Corrections · Who Runs NY

Account codes and pages: Hempstead F041 / Dept 51400 / 641940 · Adopted p. 107; North Hempstead DA.07.5142.4690 · lines 3258-3264; Oyster Bay DB 5142 / 48900 · Adopted p. 103; Babylon DB 5142 / 47 · Adopted p. 50; Brookhaven DB5142 / 4189; East Hampton DB 5142.54750; Huntington DB5142.4350 · print p. 350 / PDF p. 358; Islip DB.5142.41980 (SALT) + DB.5142.41981 (SAND) · print p. 196 / PDF p. 331; Riverhead DA1-5-5142-400-000-00000; Shelter Island DA5142.447; Smithtown DS.5142.0401 · print p. 85 / PDF p. 103; Southampton 5110.6446 Sand + 5110.6447 Salt + 5110.6448 Chemicals · Adopted p. 83; Southold DB5142.4 · Adopted p. 20