Candidates running for office in Babylon Village talked about the Village budget this week. The incumbents maintain that the Village's finances are in good shape, while their opponent believes the budget has been mismanaged, leaving the Village, and its residents, in a vulnerable fiscal position. The election is Wed., March 18.

"In 2007, the Village ran in the red by $337,521, requiring the use of the entire Village savings account," said Darrell Conway, who is running on the Unity party line. "When most local governments have done their due diligence and set aside money for a "rainy day" …this board has put the people of Babylon Village on the brink of financial disaster."

Conway squares off against incumbent Trustees Kevin Muldowney and Alice Vanderveldt of the Better Babylon party line. The incumbents point to a philosophy of sound planning, and low taxes, that they said has marked the administrations of Better Babylon party Mayor Ralph Scordino, and the late Mayor E. Donald Conroy.

"Mr. Conway has run for office three times and it is very unfortunate that this time he has taken the approach of misleading the people of Babylon Village," said Scordino. "TheVillage is not in a financial crisis."

Muldowney said that a fiscal philosophy of overtaxing the public to build up a large surplus "for a rainy day" is not what the Better Babylon party is about. Instead, he said, the board works hard to come up with a lean budget, and then makes sure the Village lives within its means.

Scordino said that the year-end budget deficit in 2007 was the result of the Village's not having received grant monies for projects it completed, including the finger pier and roadwork. "We cannot include that as revenue unless we receive it during that fiscal year," said Scordino, who added that the Village closed the gap with revenue anticipation notes, which will be paid off when the money comes into Village coffers.

The Village's tax rate 2003-04 through 2008-09 has gone from $9.66 to $11.30, a 16.9 percent increase, or approximately 3.4 percent a year, a figure that is far lower than other taxing entities such as school districts, and lower than most salary increases given during those years.

"We look for ways to get things done without raising taxes," said Scordino. "There are a lot of people who think we have waste here in the Village, but I invite them to come in and see what kind of an operation we are running. I would ask that they look at our budget, line by line. I would welcome it if they found ways of saving us money."

The Village has raised money through ways that Conway called "hidden" taxes. It increased the line items for fines significantly in the budget last year, "and instructed Village security officers to conduct an ongoing ticket blitz throughout the Village.

"I pledge that if I am elected, I will demand the restoration of financial integrity to the annual budgetary process, and eliminate hidden revenue gimmicks."

Scordino, Muldowney and Vanderveldt said there are no "financial gimmicks" in their administration, and that instructions to the Village employees to ticket cars that are parked illegally is the right thing to do.

"This is an attempt at inflammatory rhetoric," said the Mayor. "We are not fining people who are doing the right thing; we are fining those who are breaking the law." He added that maintaining tight control over parking helps ensure that there are enough spaces in the business district and that commuters don't begin using those spaces instead of parking at the railroad.

"I guess what he (Conway) is saying is that we should allow people to break the law in the Village," said Scordino. "I don't agree with that."