Babylon Village budget plan would hike taxes nearly 5%

The Village of Babylon is proposing a 2026-27 budget that would raise taxes nearly 5%, marking the third year in a row that the village would pierce the tax cap.

The tax rate for the $15.3 million spending plan would increase 4.9% to $19.84 per $100 of assessed value, up from $18.90 for the current budget and would exceed the 2.2% state tax cap for the village. Homeowners with a $5,000 assessed valuation would see their village taxes increase from $945 to $992, village Treasurer Andrew Reichel said.

A public hearing on the spending plan will be held Monday at 7 p.m. at Village Hall.

The proposed tax hike was largely dictated by expenses such as rising insurance, retirement, pension and workers' compensation costs, Reichel said. According to the proposed budget, insurance costs are projected to increase by $125,000; retirement costs by $110,000; pensions by $48,000; and workers' compensation by $30,000.

“It’s things that are out of our control,” he said. “All of those things and trying to keep everything else to a minimum is what hurts us.”

Reichel said the village is also trying to “shore up some of our equipment and infrastructure” so it can “not just continue to Band-Aid things” and can save money on repair costs.

Mayor Mary Adams had previously told Newsday that the village’s infrastructure had suffered after years of not raising taxes. The village board of trustees in February approved bonding for nearly $9 million for bulkheading, new fire trucks and pool resurfacing.

That borrowing, as well as $2.8 million in bonding three years ago, resulted in nearly $500,000 being allotted for debt service in the proposed budget.

Adams did not respond to requests for comment on the proposed budget and tax hike.

The departments that have the most increases over this year’s budget are public safety, with a $123,450 rise in spending, and transportation, with a $239,000 increase.

The public safety increase includes $61,750 for the fire department, which Reichel attributed to supplies, equipment for new vehicles and replacement of outdated radios. Also included in that category is an increase of $25,000 for part-time code enforcement officers, he said.

For transportation, street administration costs are rising $70,000 for highway department salary increases and payouts for unused time, Reichel said. Street maintenance is rising $105,000 to pay for laborers who were hired this year, he said, and another $35,000 is dedicated to equipment replacement.

The village is also increasing its snow removal line by $15,000. With significantly more snow this year than in recent years, the village blew through its budget of $70,000, spending more than $159,000 for snow removal. Reichel said the village was able to hold off on some planned repairs and purchases to pay for the increase.

Reichel said the village has less than $200,000 in surplus, so officials did not want to apply any of that money to offset a tax hike. He said the fund was previously used to prevent tax increases, and then was exhausted during the pandemic.

“We’ve been trying to play catch-up since then to replenish it,” he said.

The village increased taxes by 9.8% for the current budget and by 6.1% for the prior year.

Resident Gary Weiner said the proposed budget appears “reasonable,” especially given the increase in inflation.

“If the taxes go up 5% and that’s what we need to do vital things around the village and keep everything running the way it is, I don’t see it as a big deal,” he said.

But Weiner said he wishes the village would do more to explain spending to residents rather than just posting the budget online.

“There’s no way to really tell unless you really dig into individual line items, what they are, who’s really getting the money,” he said. “You have to go, 'OK, I guess we just have to trust you.' ”

By Denise M. Bonilla

denise.bonilla@newsday.comdenisebonilla

Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.