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BA B Y L O N PU B L IC L IB R A R Y SOUTH SHORE L.I'S LARGEST CIRCULATION WEEKLY NEWSPAPER S e r v i n g t h e c o m m u n i t y s i n c e 1966 P r i n t e d o n r e c y c l e d p a p e r VOL. 45 NO. 3 THURSDAY, January 2 0 ,2011.50 CENTS O F F IC IA L N E W SPA P E R Periodicals Postage Paid- Babylon Post Office, Babylon NY 11702 (USPS 03960-8000) FO R SUFFOLK CO U N T Y •TOWN OF BABYLON . VILLAGE O F BABYLON •BABYLON SCHOOLS • D E E R PARK SCH O O L S . LINDENH URST SCHOOLS • COPIAGUE SCHOOLS • W E S T BABYLON SCHOOLS .N O R T H BABYLON SCHOOLS • W Y ANDANCH SCHOOLS • BAY SHORE SCHOOLS Published every Thursday by CJ P u b l i s h e r s , I nc . , 1999 65 Deer Park Ave., Babylon, N Y 11702 Founders Edward D Wolfe, Jane D. Wolfe Publishers, Carolyn and Alfred James Inside: R e sid e n ts of McCue Lane, Babylon w elcom e San ta ...Page 8 H oliday giving in B a b y lon Schools ...Page 3 The Beacon is the hometown newspaper o f Dave Efron o f West M ip Your news, every week in print and every day online at www.babyionbeacon.com Better Babylon Party kicks off campaign; election March 15 by Carolyn James For many years M ary Rodriguez lived next door to Anna Scordino, grandm other o f Babylon Village M ayor Ralph Scordino. She rem em bers often seeing the Mayor, then a teenager, mowing his grandm oth er’s lawn. She also remembers stopping in at the Highway D iner where she would often see Village officials get ting a cup o f coffee or a late night dinner after a lo cal meeting, and stopping them along M ain Street or Deer Park Avenue to ask a question, offer a sugges tion or register a complaint. “That’s the kind o f a Village it is,” she said. “The people who we want to represent us are our friends and our neighbors. And they care about the Village.” Rodriguez was one o f m o re than 100 people who gathered at the Better Babylon Party campaign kick off at Village Hall Thursday night, Jan. 13. She said she was there because she values the kind o f personal leadership that has becom e a tradition in Babylon Village and wants to keep it that way. “That’s why we are supporting Better Babylon Par- (Continued on page 8) Better Babylon Party supporters k ic k o ff cam paign fo r the reelection o f M ayor Ralph Scordino and Trustees Anthony D avida and D ebbie Basile. Challengers have until Feb. 8 to file petition to run in the M arch 15 election. Lindenhurst Village approves new budget; tax rate up 38-cents A new budget for the com ing year in Lindenhurst Village will increase the tax rate 38-cents or approxi mately $17 a year on a hom e assessed at $4,500. The Lindenhurst Village Board approved the budget at its meeting Monday night, Jan. 4. The $ 1 0 .7 m illion budget, which runs from Mar. 1,2011 to Feb. 2 8 ,2012 increases spending by approximately $274,000. Mayor Tom Brennan said that the average Linden hurst homeowner would have a tax increase o f not m ore than $25. O ther 8officials estimated that the average home’s taxes would increase between $ 1 2 and $20. “It’s a pretty stable budget,” said Village Clerk Shawn Cullinane. “It’s a balanced budget.” Cullinane said that the difficult decisions made by the board last year, which included not spending surplus funds nor raising sanitation fees, made this budget process much easier. And, those moves have allowed the Village to maintain an “excellent bond rating. “We’re still in good financial shape,” Cullinane said. The increases will cover the cost o f new state m a n dates, contractual obligation increases in retirement and health-care costs. The Village will still fully fund the fire department and provide services that resi dents are accustomed to such as the sum m er youth program and the senior center, said the Mayor, who complimented Cullinane for his work on the budget. The residents who spoke at the public hearing were receptive to the budget, with some thanking the board for acting fiscally responsible. However, there were questions about some o f the increases. “How is the fire department budget figured,” asked one resident. “They have over a nine percent in crease.” “They always com e in with a lot more,” said Bren nan. “Last year, we took $50,000 to $80,000 away from them. That’s why we’re a little m ore lenient.” Cullinane added that much o f that increase is to pay for increases in costs for things like water, gaso line and oxygen tanks. The same resident also questioned the bond debt payments which represent nine percent o f the bud get. Brennan said that the Village is trying to pay it off but would probably have to increase bond debt this year. Deputy Mayor Kevin M cCaffrey added that Lin denhurst’s bond debt ratio is less than other m u n ici palities. He also said that the idea o f debt is for the Village to work on a pay-as-you-go basis to avoid fluctuations in the tax rate. In other business, the board held a hearing on a proposal to sell the dead-end portion o f G u lf Street. The Village is considering selling the street to the owner o f the properties on either side. Village At torney Gerard Glass said that the Village is consider ing the sale because the potential buyers have offered about $ 7 0 ,000, which is far in excess o f the appraised value o f approximately $ 46,000. Glass also said that there is a security and m ainte nance issue on the street, as vandalism has occurred, which is another reason why the Village is consider ing the sale. The board chose to not vote on the proposal at that meeting but it is expected that the board will approve the sale at the next board meeting. If so, the dead end portion o f G u lf Street would b ecom e private property. The Mayor said that a condition o f the sale is that the owners cannot build on it. The board also: •heard a complaint about snow removal during the recent storm. The resident, who is also a civic leader, said that residents were unsatisfied with the speed and thoroughness o f cleaning local streets. Brennan said that he was happy with the cleanup during the first two days o f the blizzard, but was not (Continued on page 3) ♦••*********CR LOT 0200A**C002 BABYLON LIBRARY (3) 24 S CARLL AVE BABYLON NY 11702-3403 liiilliiillliiillliiiiililiilliiliillliiiiiH m lililiiln lli!
