Babylon Village OKs 7 laws, labor contract

Babylon Village trustees voted seven new laws into village code and approved a four-year contract for highway and sanitation workers -- but postponed a vote on a controversial proposal to regulate psychics and tattoo parlors.

Most of the laws approved Tuesday cover quality-of-life issues that drew little comment from residents at recent hearings: bamboo planting, street parking, outdoor lighting.

But a proposal to license psychics, tattoo and piercing parlors and confine the businesses to the village's industrial zones has drawn comment from people on both sides of the issue. Mayor Ralph Scordino, who displayed a stack of correspondence on the matter during the trustees' work session, said trustees would study that matter further before voting.

Babylon resident April Lindevald, who said she was a psychic practicing in the village, offered to assist the trustees in making their decision. Trustees thanked her but did not immediately schedule a meeting.

The new labor contract covers about 30 village employees working in highways, parks and sanitation represented by the Civil Service Employees Association, the only union representing village employees. The agreement, retroactive to June 2010, offers longevity pay annually ranging from $300 for workers with fewer than 10 years of service to $1,000 for those with more than 30 years.

Scordino said the deal will cost the village about $20,000 this year and $30,000 each year following.

"The collective bargaining process took its course and we're happy with the outcome," said Richard Impagliazzo, CSEA spokesman for Long Island.