Albert Wisner Library election set for April 24; public hearing on proposed budget April 17

Margaret Bogdanski is unopposed for board seat Warwick — Last month voters went to the polls and voted in favor of building a new library. This month, voters in the Warwick Valley School District will again vote on a library issue — this time, on the annual tax levy and for one trustee on the Library Board. The total proposed budget is $861,250. Of this amount, $790,000 falls to the taxpayers, an increase of $36,385 from the current year. This increase is primarily for a 3.25 percent raise for library employees, additional hours for a part-time custodian and increases in insurance, utilities and contractual fees, according to Library Director Rosemary Cooper. The remaining $71,250 of the library’s proposed operating budget comes from other sources including library fees, gifts, grants and interest. Voting takes place on Tuesday, April 24, at the library, between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. A public hearing will be held on Tuesday, April 17, also at the library, at 7 p.m. Voter registration is held at the school district office adjacent to the Middle School. Voters also may request an absentee ballot at least seven days before the election, if the ballot is to be mailed, and one day before if the ballot is going to be picked up by the voter. Copies of the proposed 2007/08 operating budget are available at the library or can be found on the library’s Web site at www.albertwisnerlibrary.org. Margaret Bogdanski, a 25-year member of the library’s board, is seeking reelection to the library Board of Trustees. She has no opposition. Using tentative projected assessment values and equalization rates, the proposed library tax rates are estimated at $2.11 per $1,000 of assessed value, an increase of 10 cents per $1,000 for Warwick homeowners, and 51 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for Chester homeowners in the Warwick Valley School District, an increase of three cents per $1,000. The current tax rates are $2.01 for Warwick homeowners and 48 cents for Chester homeowners. A Warwick homeowner with a home assessed at $50,000 would pay a library tax of $105.50 per year, an increase of $5 a year and a homeowner in Chester with a home assessed at $200,000 would pay $102 per year, an increase of $6 a year. For more information, call Cooper at 986-1047.