Library budget needs a simple majority to pass

Correction: The Herald's print edition wrongly stated that a supermajority is needed for the library budget to pass. The budget only requires a simple majority to pass.

The role of libraries are changing as more people look to download books and online resources, but that’s not the only way the Baldwin Public Library is looking to modernize under its 2014-15 proposed budget.

Due to repair costs on the horizon to replace the building’s four boilers and to install new double-pane windows in the main reading room to increase energy efficiency, the library’s Board of Trustees adopted a budget in February that exceeds its 1.46 percent tax levy cap. On Tuesday, residents will vote on a $4.19 million budget that features a 5.36 percent tax levy increase. It will require a simple majority to pass.

The proposed budget is about $200,000 more than the current budget. Nearly half of the proposed increase is due to capital projects, while the costs of administrative fees and mandated expenses, like health insurance and Medicare, are also on the rise.

Elizabeth Olesh, who took over as the BPL’s director last week, said the capital projects are necessary. “These costs are meant to provide the community with a facility that’s safe, comfortable and accessible,” she said. “We need to be able to maintain the infrastructure for the community.”

She also noted that unlike school districts, there aren’t any capital projects exclusions for libraries under the tax cap, so these projects must be funded within the budget.
In the proposed budget, $138,000 is earmarked for the boilers and windows, but Olesh said that does not represent the entire cost. “We would be eligible to apply for grant funding through New York State that’s specifically available for library construction,” she said.

The BPL purchases its online services cooperatively with other Nassau County libraries, which, Olesh said, keeps costs low while giving patrons more resources.

Residents will also have a decision to make about the library’s Board of Trustees. Joseph Carroll, a lawyer who has been on the board since 2004, is seeking re-election and is running unopposed. Additionally, Trustee James Healy has decided not to finish out his term, which has one year left. To decide who will fill the soon-to-be vacant seat, voters will write-in a community member’s name.

The top vote getter on Tuesday, including Carroll, will get the seat Carroll currently holds and the five-year term that goes along with it. The second place vote getter will take over Healy’s current seat and finish out the last year on the term.
Community members can cast their votes, just like their school board and budget votes, on Tuesday, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Baldwin High School.