By Laura Lane
Margaret Cincotta, the North Merrick Library director, said 1,459 people voted in the first election, which was 10 times more than usual because the library vote was held with the school budget vote, attracting a greater number of voters.
Cincotta believes residents may have been confused about the library budget. She said some library patrons had heard that people thought they had already voted for the library budget in December, when in reality they voted on a $3 million bond to upgrade the library. That proposal was rejected, as well.
Cincotta said other library patrons complained that lines at Fayette Elementary school, where the budget vote was held, were too long, and they couldn't commit the time to wait to vote.
If the library vote fails again, the library will automatically revert to last year's budget. "We will be frozen in last year's budget and won't be able to have any increases in tax revenue," said Cincotta. "And we'd have to make cuts, too."
