Florida library budget and trustee vote set for May 15

Florida — The Florida Public Library’s annual budget vote and election of trustees will take place Tuesday, May 15, on the same ballot as the Florida Union Free School District vote. Voting will take place in the music room at S. S. Seward Institute from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. School district residents not already registered to vote may do so at Seward on Tuesday, May 8, from 3 to 7 p.m. Absentee ballots are available from the school district office through May 8 and must be returned by 5 p.m. on May 15. The library’s total budget for the 2007-08 fiscal year is $362,980. The proposed tax levy to be voted on by taxpayers is $264,480, an increase of $9,875 or 3.8 percent more than the current year’s taxpayer support of $254,605. Estimated tax rates are 76 cents for the Town of Goshen, an increase of two cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation and $3.51 for the Town of Warwick, an increase of 13 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation. Copies of the budget are available at the circulation desk. The Board of Trustees will hold a public hearing on the budget on Monday, May 7, at 7 p.m. The regular monthly meeting of the board will follow at 7:30 p.m. Also on the ballot on May 15 will be two library trustee seats, both for five-year terms beginning July 1. Incumbent John Sgombick is running for a second term. Vice President David O’Neill is retiring. No other candidate filed a petition by the April 16 deadline, so the second seat may be filled by a write-in candidate. Interested parties are encouraged to contact Library Director Madelyn Folino at 651-7659 for information on the duties of a library trustee. Editor’s note: Donna M. Bell announces her write-in candidacy in a letter to the editor appearing on page 10 of this week’s Warwick Advertiser.