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Image provided by: Suffolk Cooperative Library System
BABYLON PUBLIC LIBRARY SOUTH SHORE L.I'S LARGEST CIRCULATION WEEKLY NEWSPAPER S erving the community since 1966 P rinted on recycled paper W ebsite : www . babylonbeacon . com e - mail address : acjnews @ rcn . com O F F IC IA L NE W S P A P E R Periodicals Postage Paid- Babylon Post Office, Babylon NY 11702 (USPS 03960-8000W --------- •WE •COI AHV iJQ H 3 ' rot W vu. •NORTI publis 1 v » u s h e r s , I nc . , 1999 65 Deer Park Ave., Babylon, NY 11702 Founders Edward D Wolfe, Jane D. Wolfe Publishers, Carolyn and Alfred James * N i c e l m ttlkU Inside this week: • Around Town . . . Page 2 • O b ituaries. . . Page 9C See Inside for School and Sports news Public Notices: Your R ight to Know: Pages .. .6 , 7 ,8C, 9 C & IOC The Babylon Beacon is the hometown newspaper o f Ralph Forman of West Babylon VOL. 44 NO. 18 THURSDAY, May 6,2010 50 CENTS WBSD proposed budget increases spending 2%; staffing cuts planned Revenue losses drive up tax levy to 7.13 percent over current year by Carolyn James The West Babylon School Board adopted a proposed 2010-2011 budget of $174.66 million, an increase of 2.08 percent over the current budget of $163.04 million. That translates into a proposed tax-rate increase of 7.13 percent. The difference between the spending increase and the tax-rate increase is the result of $2 million in state aid under Gov. David Paterson’s budget proposal, and a reduction in assessments, the vote is May 18. The new spending plan calls for the reduction of 7 teaching positions at the elementary level and several paraprofessionals, all as a result of declining enrollment. Those cuts were planned, said district officials, regardless of other budgetary issues to address the reduction in the number of students in the elementary grades. “We are pretty sure that the cuts in the paraprofessional staff will not result in anyone actually losing their job because we have a large turnover of staff in that area every year,\ Said Palma. “But whether any teachers will actually lose their jobs will depend on the number of retirements we have, which we will’not know about until the end of the school year.” The district is also using $4.2 million in reserves; $3.2 million in appropriated reserves and $1.1 million in unappropriated reserves. The current tax rate in the district is at $163.04 and under the current proposal, would increase to $174.66. Under that plan, a home assessed at $4,000 would pay News and Muse ...Page 2 Local Police Officer in Unity Bike Ride in Memory o f Babylon Town Officer...Page 3 NBSD budget calls for layoffs and other cuts...Page 8 St. Paul's Reformed Church Celebrates 50th __ _ Anntversat -y an additional $464.80 in school taxes next year. That figure could change when the district sets the tax levy in the fall, however, and the School Board has made a commitment, said Palma, that any additional state aid that might be restored by the New York State Legislature to override some or all of the Gov. David Paterson’s cuts, would go directly toward reducing the tax levy and school tax rate. There is some good news in the new spending plan, however. The district will be purchasing two new school buses and has restored K-5 summer school and 7th grade athletic teams. It plans to resurface the track at the Junior High School, replace tiles in the first floor of the school and put in a new gas heater at the bus garage. “We tried to hold ground on everything, while reducing staff to reflect lower enrollment,” said Palma, who pointed out that if school aid is restored to this year’s levels, the tax increase would be at 3.55 percent, half of what is now projected. Under New York State law, the district can present the budget to the public for approval twice. If it is not approved the second time, the district must go to a contingency budget, which, in West Babylon’s case, would mean a reduction of .43 percent in spending and a tax rate increase of 4.4 percent. In getting to where we are today, we looked over enrollment and staffing carefully and were very tight on supplies and equipment,” said Palma. \We know it is high, but this is an academically sound budget that does not cut any programs and adds a few things,\ said Trustee Lucy Campasano in discussing the spending plan. \We have no teacher layoffs and we are hoping that the public will support it.\ \If it fails,\ said Campasano, \then we will have a big nut to crack—about $1.5 million will have to be cut and we don’t want that.\ As residents may be wondering about the impact of the fire at South Bay Elementary School on the budget Palma said the issue is budget neutral. “Operating costs associated with continuing to educate the students from that school translate into the same operating costs this year,” he said. “As far as the restoration goes, those costs will not have an impact on taxpayers.” The district expects to have all of the information in place from its insurance carriers and others by the first or second week in May and will then proceed to put a formal plan into place for rebuilding the school. Legislator Gregory establishes Citizens Advisory Board Suffolk County Legislator DuWayne Gregory (D-Amityville) held the first meeting of his newly appointed Citizen’s Advisory Board. The committee consists of members from each area of the 15th Legislative district. The members were chosen based on their civic and community involvement in their respective communi ties. The board will meet quarterly to discuss issues of concern with Legislator Gregory. “I feel one of the most important aspects of my job is to address the concerns of the community; this advisory board is a mechanism to do just that” states Gregory. The members include: Sal Puglia from Copiague; David Need ham from East Farmingdale; John Simpkins from West Babylon; Sandy Thomas from Wheatley Heights; Norman Sellers from Wyandanch; Thomas Humphrey from North Amityville; Gerri Compitello Amityville Village; and Jack Hunsucker from North Lindenhurst. Picture above left to right: Jack Hunsucker, Sal Puglia, Norman Sellers, Legislator Gregory, Thomas Hum phrey, and John Simpkins.
