After more than two years of unsuccessful negotiations with the Highway and Sanitation CSEA union, the Babylon Village Board approved across-the-board raises of $1,000 a year, pending the negotiation of a new contract. The employees' contract expired in May of 2006.

Mayor Ralph Scordino said he did not want the employees to continue to work any longer without an increase in pay, and added that he looked forward to reaching a formal agreement soon.

The employees had been seeking annual raises of between $5,000 and $10,000, figures that the Village could not financially sustain, said officials. Instead, the Village offered 3 percent raises, which were in line with what the State and the Town of Babylon had approved, said Joel Sikowitz, the Village's attorney.

Traditionally, what the Village tried to do was to give increases of approximately 3 percent each year, which is in line with the cost of living," said Sikowitz. "That is what Town, as well as State, has latched on to.

The Village and the union have gone through mediation and Fact Finding. In the spring of this year, after several meetings were held, the Fact Finder recommended a five-year contract calling for increases of 5.5 percent, 5 percent, 4.5 percent, 4 percent and 3 percent. The Village agreed to the recommendation, but the employees voted it down in early spring.

Negotiations lingered again, and in late May, early June, the Village contacted the CSEA representatives hoping to reinvigorate negotiations. Again, there was no movement.

"At that point the Village decided to pass a one-year resolution, which is permitted under the Taylor Law, to pass along the raises," said Sikowitz. "We hope that this will prompt the CSEA representatives to join us in working toward a resolution of this disagreement. With the economy taking a pounding and Village revenue down as a result of less money coming in for things like mortgage taxes, we owe it to the taxpayer to be as financially sound as possible and to balance everything, said Sikowitz.