Albert Wisner Public Library will hold a public hearing March 27 on its operating tax levy

WARWICK — The Albert Wisner Public Library’s annual tax levy for its operating budget and trustee vote will be held on Tuesday, April 10, 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 Library’s proposed tax levy for its operating budget and to select library trustees.
The annual budget planning process began in fall of 2017 with a series of public meetings, the last of which will be the public hearing on the budget scheduled for Tuesday March 27, at 7 p.m. at the library. Copies of the proposed FY2018/2019 operating budget can be found at the library’s website at www.albertwisnerlibrary.org.
There is the election of one Library Trustee on the same ballot. Regina Wittosch will be running for re-election.
The polls will be open at the library at 9 a.m. and close at 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.
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.
The library is seeking approval for an operating tax levy of $1,587,800 for the fiscal year 2018/2019 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 operating budget.
Using current assessment values and equalization rates, the estimated tax rates for the FY 2017/2018 proposed library operating budget are estimated at $ 4.07 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, an increase of 16 cents per $1,000 for Warwick homeowners, and 95 cents per $1,000, an increase of three cents per $1,000 for Chester homeowners in the Warwick Valley School District.
The library’s proposed operating levy would cost $203.50 a year for a Warwick family with a home assessed at $50,000 or an increase of $8 a year.
A family in Chester with a home assessed at $200,000 would pay $190 per year, an increase of $8 a year.
For more information, check the library’s website www.albertwisnerlibrary.org or contact Library Director Rosemary Cooper at 986-1047 ext. 6.