Albert Wisner library vote and trustee election set April 2

The Albert Wisner Public Library’s annual tax levy for its operating budget and trustee vote will be held on Tuesday, April 14, at the library on McFarland Drive.

Each year, the library goes directly to the voters in its library district, the residents of Warwick Valley School District, to ask for support of the proposed tax levy for its operating budget and to select library trustees.

The annual budget planning process for the Library began in fall of 2019 with a series of public meetings, the last of which will be the public hearing on the budget scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, at 7 p.m. at the library at One McFarland Drive in the village of Warwick.

Copies of the Proposed FY2020/2021 Operating Budget can be found at www.albertwisnerlibrary.org and at the library.

There is the election of two library trustees on the same ballot.

The polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 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 up to and including April 9.

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.

Revenues

The Library is seeking approval for an operating tax levy of $1,656,990 for the fiscal year 2020/2021 operating budget, which includes all expenses for operating the library.

The levy represents 91 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 continues to contribute $25,000 to the operating budget in addition to other support for library programs and collections. The Friends of the Library will continue to contribute an annual gift of $15,000 toward the FY2020-2021 operating budget as well.

Tax figures

Using current assessment values and equalization rates, the estimated tax rates for the FY 2020/2021 proposed library operating budget are estimated at:

$4.18 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, an increase of $0.08 per $1,000 for Warwick homeowners, and

$0.98 per $1,000, an increase of $0.02 per $1,000 for Chester homeowners in the Warwick Valley School District.

The Library’s proposed operating levy would cost $209 a year for a Warwick family with a home assessed at $50,000 or an increase of $4 a year.

A family in Chester with a home assessed at $200,000 would pay $196 per year, an increase of $4 a year.

The April 14 vote is for the proposed operating budget. The debt for the new library building was $1.08 per $1,000 for Warwick homeowners and $0.25 per $1,000 for Chester homeowners in 2019 and it should remain the same in 2020.

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