“I mentioned in that letter that the proponents of incorporation have oddly skipped over the fact that when another hamlet on Long Island tried the same maneuver, it wound up facing economic ruin with property tax bills threatening to increase by 400 percent and a Moody’s bond rating that would have made it outlandishly expensive just to run the village.”

Before anyone accuses me of hyperbole, I base that number on historical fact. The proponents of incorporation have hired lots of experts, and we all know how consultants are, especially those of us who have worked in that industry. These authorities tell my neighbors and me in Wainscott, in cheery, self-assured voices, accompanied by lots of colorful charts and graphs, that they are pretty darn sure we should expect an increase of no more than about $400 per household if there is incorporation.