Library budget passes — 100 to 1
Island residents gave the Shelter Island Library budget a resounding vote of confidence Saturday, voting in favor of the $848,420 proposal 100 to 1. Tax money paid in 2020 will cover $687,166 of the total budget
Approval of the budget will cost owners with property assessed at $807,000 an additional $5 while those with lower property values will pay less while those with higher property values will pay a bit more, according to Library Director Terry Lucas and Treasurer Bill Martens.
We’re so pleased,” Ms. Lucas said, delighted at the strong show of support residents have given to the library. “I’m just beaming,” she said, calling it her favorite number.
The increase is less than the increase voters approved a year ago for the current budget when whey saw an approximate $6.40 increase in their taxes to support the library.
The library is expected to take in more revenue from contributions and fundraising in 2020, Mr. Martens said, noting that the Elizabeth S. Patterson Charitable Remainder Trust had willed a bequest to establish the Gill Patterson Youth Library Fund in 2015. It will provide more money in 2020 for children’s books, materials and programs than it has in past years, Ms. Lucas said.
Overall, $115,150 is expected from contributions and fundraising events next year, almost doubling the $63,130 that came in last year.
As for spending increases, salaries and benefits, including rising health insurance costs, account for much of the change. In the current year, the library allocated $517,360 for those expenses and in 2020 expects to have to increase those costs to $592,060.
