Bill Murray seeks 4th term on Rockville Centre library board

Originally appointed to fill a vacancy on the Rockville Centre Public Library’s Board of Trustees in 2004, and elected to full terms in 2005 and 2008, William S. Murray Jr. is seeking a full third term on the library board and will run unopposed in Tuesday’s school and library budget and board vote.

With a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from Boston College and an MBA in Finance and Strategy from the Yale School of Management, Murray has 23 years of experience with various firms in the financial services industry with a focus on improving control management of their finance and operations functions.

He is currently employed by the Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets in New York City as the Director of the Internal Controls Group within the organization’s Finance Department.

Murray brings strong analytical and financial management skills and creative thinking to solve complex issues. During his time on the board, Murray says his key priority has been the prudent management of the library’s budget, concentrating on people, programs and appropriate upkeep of library facilities.

Murray says he and his fellow trustees have preserved library services and internally funded (as opposed to seeking bond debt funding) all repairs and upkeep to the library’s building and grounds with only modest increases for ever increasing healthcare expenses, state retirement costs and unfunded government mandates that currently driving its cost structure.

During his years on the board, Murray sponsored the current “No Unattended Adults in the Children’s Room” policy to ensure the staff of the library had the necessary policy to prevent unwanted situations in the one room in the library that is a safe haven for children.

He supported the creation of the Library’s Career Center and related support services in response to the economic climate and the needs of many in the community, himself included, after the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

He also led the effort to eliminate all rental fees for DVDs and other like media at the library.

Murray is married to Kathleeen MacDonald Murray, a native of Rockville Centre. The couple, who have lived in Rockville Centre for 10 years, have three children who attend Rockville Centre public schools.

Murray, who is no relation to other Murrays in the public arena, said he believes the library is the “heart and soul” of the village. Being a trustee, he said, is a great way to give back to this place of “good works” and to ensure the library continues to grow in its mission and touch others as it has positively touched his family over the years.