Library operating levy and trustee election set for April 1

WARWICK — The Albert Wisner Public Library’s annual tax levy for its operating budget and trustee vote will be held on Tuesday, April 1, at the library.

The library is seeking approval for an operating tax levy of $1,232,606 for the fiscal year 2014/15 operating budget, which includes all expenses for operating the library.

The levy represents 81 percent of the library’s proposed operating budget; the rest of the budget is funded by a combination of fees, gifts, grants, interest and reserve funds.

The Library Foundation contributes $20,000 to the operating budget in addition to other support for library programs and collections and the Friends of the Library makes an annual gift of $15,000.

Using current assessment values and equalization rates, the estimated tax rates for the proposed library operating budget are estimated at:

$3.21 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, an increase of $0.23 per $1,000 for Warwick homeowners; and

$0.74 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, an increase of $0.05 percent $1,000 for Chester homeowners in the Warwick Valley School District.

The library’s proposed operating levy would cost $160.50 a year for a Warwick family with a home assessed at $50,000 or an increase of $11.50 a year.

A family in Chester with a home assessed at $200,000 would pay $148.00 per year, an increase of $10 a year.

Essential information
The annual budget planning process for the library began in fall with a series of public meetings, the last of which will be the public hearing on the budget scheduled for Tuesday, March 18, at 7 p.m. at the library at One McFarland Drive in the village of Warwick.

Copies of the proposed 2014/15 operating budget are available at the library or can be found on the library’s Web site at www.albertwisnerlibrary.org.

There is the election of two Library Trustees on the same ballot. Jerry Benedetto and Donna Applegate will be running for re-election.

The polls will be open at the library at 9: a.m. and close at 9 p.m.

Residents of the Warwick Valley School District who are registered to vote may participate in this election. Voter registration is held at the school district office. Voting by absentee ballot can be requested at the library at least seven days before the election date if the ballot is to be mailed and one day before the election if the ballot is to be picked up by the voter.

For more information, check the library’s Web site www.albertwisnerlibrary.org or contact Library Director Rosemary Cooper at 986-1047 ext. 6.