Babylon Village to consider $8.9M budget at public hearing

In advance of Monday night’s budget hearing, the Babylon Village Board last week unveiled a proposed $8.9 million budget for the next fiscal year, slightly larger than the current budget but with a 9.71 percent property tax increase.

Mayor Ralph Scordino said Friday that the increase “is a one-shot deal, hopefully,” driven partly by the need to replenish the village’s cash reserves after superstorm Sandy and other expenses.

“We’re kind of in a little box here,” he said, describing a proposed budget he said was without “frills or ribbons.”

With state aid and other sources of revenue dropping or stagnant, taxpayers would assume a larger share of the burden of the village’s financial obligations than in recent years.

Under the proposed budget, real estate taxes would provide about 65 percent of the village’s revenue next year; two years ago, they provided just more than half. The village also expects to pay $2.3 million in retirement and health care costs for employees, roughly $150,000 more than in the current year.

The budget would preserve major services and amenities, including the village pool, badly damaged by the storm but scheduled to reopen for the summer season. The tax rate per $100 of assessed valuation would be $14.24.

The hearing starts at 7 p.m. in Village Hall.