The Library is seeking approval for an operating tax levy

The Library is seeking approval for an operating tax levy of $1,656,990.00 for the fiscal year 2022/2023 operating budget, which includes all expenses for operating the Library

After Two Years without an Increase, the AWPL Library has scheduled a Tuesday April 5, 2022 for Proposed FY 2022/2023 Operating Levy and Trustee Election. Public Information Meeting Tuesday March 29, 2022 at 7pm at the Library

The Albert Wisner Public Library’s vote for an increase to the tax levy for its operating budget and for one trustee will be held on Tuesday April 5, 2022 at the Library on McFarland Drive. This vote will be in person and is the first levy vote since 2019. Normally, each year, the Library goes directly to the voters in its Library district, the residents of Warwick Valley School District (WVCSD), 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 for the Library began in Fall 2021 with a series of public meetings, the last of which will be the information meeting on the proposed FY 2022/2023  Library operating budget. It is scheduled for Tuesday, March 29, 2022 at 7:00 pm at the Library (1 McFarland Drive in the village of Warwick.) Copies of the Proposed FY 2022/2023 Operating Budget can be found at the library’s website at www.albertwisnerlibrary.org and at the Library.

There is the election of one Library Trustee on the same ballot. Trustees serve 5-year terms.

The polls will open at the Library at 9:00 am and close at 9:00 pm. Residents of the Warwick Valley Central School District who are registered to vote may participate in this election. Voter registration is held at the School
District Office (225 West St.) Voting by Absentee Ballot may 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 $1,656,990.00 for the fiscal year 2022/2023 operating budget, which includes all expenses for operating the Library. The last increase was voted on and approved in April 2019. The levy represents 91% 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 has increased its annual contribution to the operating budget to $30,000 in addition to other support for library programs and collections. The Friends of the Library will contribute $5,000 towards the FY2022-2023 Library operating budget.

Using current assessment values and equalization rates, the estimated tax rates for the FY 2022/2023 proposed library operating budget are, for Warwick homeowners, $ 4.15/$1,000, an increase of $0.07/$1,000. For Chester homeowners in the Warwick Valley Central School District, the increase is estimated at $0.06/$1,000.

The Library’s proposed operating levy would cost $207.50 a year for a Warwick family with a home assessed at $50,000 or an increase of $4.00 a year. A family in Chester with a home assessed at $200,000 would pay $188.00 per year, an increase of $4.00 a year.

The April 5, 2022 Library vote is specifically for the proposed operating budget. The debt for the new library in building in 2021 was $1.07/$1,000 for Warwick homeowners, and $0.24/$1,000 for Chester homeowners. It is expected to remain the same.

For more information, click on the “Support” tab on the Library’s website www.albertwisnerlibrary.org or contact Rosemary Cooper, Library