Pearl River Library Vote Tuesday

The proposed Pearl River Public Library budget for 2013-14 will call for a 1.2 percent tax increase for homeowners in Pearl River. 

All voting will take place at Pearl River Public Library at 80 Franklin Ave. from  9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday. One seat for a five-year term on the board of trustees will also be on the ballot, though no candidates chose to run. That could be determined by write-in vote. 

According to a statement by the Pearl River Public Library Board of Trustees, the proposed budget includes a tax levy increase of 3.94 percent, which does exceed the state mandated two percent cap. There are many exemptions built into the cap, but none apply to the library this year, though its actual increase for homeowners is 1.2 percent.

"As community members, we continue to recognize the economic realities we all face and in recent years h ave presented budgets with very modest increases," the trustees said through the statement. "The library too contends with the challenges of rising costs, new fees, declining revenues and preventative maintenance on our 23-year-old building. This year's proposed budget is carefully crafted with the goal of allowing the library to continue to offer both personal and technological services, as well as  diverse selection of resources and programming to satisfy the public's needs while responsibly maintaining the building facility and remaining open conveniently scheduled hours."

The $2.1 million budget is a 2.49 percent increase over 2012-13. The projected increase for an average homeowner with a property assessment of $200,000 would be $3.75 over last year. 
For a more detailed look at the proposed budget and the trustee vote, go to this page on the Pearl River Public Library website.

As with most school and municipal budgets this year, the largest increases were in areas the library cannot control. That includes a jump of $29,000 in payments into state retirement funds (from $166,000 to $195,000) and $9,000 in medical insurance costs ($189.000 to $198,000). Fees related to the Ramapo Catskill Library System are also going up just over $6,000 between computers and system costs. 

Payroll costs would go up $18,300 from $1.220,000 to $1,238,300.