News Nearby: Riverhead Man Charged with Murder

Three Village

The decision to pierce New York's tax cap blew up in officials' faces Tuesday as Three Village voters rejected the proposed $178.6 million budget.

Just 56.74 percent of voters approved the budget, which would have raised the tax levy by 4.48 percent. Since the budget exceeded the 2 percent cap, it needed a supermajority of 60 percent voter approval to pass.

-----

Port Jefferson

Comsewogue school district's did not get the supermajority it needed to pass. On Tuesday night the budget failed by a vote of ‎1514 to 1064, not enough to get the 60 percent required, according to school board member Rob DeStefano.

Update: School board member Fran Alabau-Blatter says that the district is recounting the votes. Check back for final results.

-----

Smithtown

Voters passed a $215 million budget Tuesday for the 2012-2013 school year. With a final tally of 3,587 to 1,618, homeowners within the Smithtown Central School district can expect to see a 2.23 percent increase in their collective tax levy in the following year. 

The district announced in April that the now approved budget would result in the . The cuts, according to the district, would result in savings of more than $3 million.

-----

Riverhead

A man charged with murder after Mirian Garcia, 29, was found dead last week behind the Department of Motor Vehicles in Riverhead allegedly strangled her with a belt after raping her.

Suffolk County homicide detectives arrested Guillermo Alfonso Alvarado-Ajcuc, 21, of Riverhead for the  on Wednesday at approximately 6 p.m. 

-----

North Fork

Oysterponds Elementary School was the only district on the North Fork to fail in passing its 2012-13 budget Tuesday night. Voters spoke out 192 yes to 253 no to vote down the $5,353,894 budget —  a plan to reduce spending by $270,000 this year, but the tax levy increase is estimated at 2.5 percent