Riverhead Free Library trustees are asking voters to approve a $5.2 million operating budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year in a vote scheduled to take place on April 9.
The operating budget represents a 9.79% increase over the current year’s budget.
The biggest cost center in the budget is personnel expenses, comprising employee salaries, which are budgeted at just under $2.3 million in the coming fiscal year, a 5% increase over 2023-2024, and mandated expenses of $1,096,500, a 9.33% increase over the current year. Mandated expenses include retirement contributions, health insurance and payroll taxes.
On a percentage basis, the biggest increases are attributed to purchase of digital resources and media, the use of which is growing rapidly among library patrons, Riverhead Free Library Director Kerrie McMullen-Smith said in an interview last week. These include digital books and DVDs. Proposed expenditures for digital resources and media total nearly $300,000 in 2024-2025, more than any other non-personnel expenditure.
Patrons downloaded audio and e-books nearly 90,000 times in the past year, according to stats published by the library. They streamed 25,223 items.
The library plans to spend $138,000 on capital improvements next year, most notably toward the expense of replacing the HVAC system, as well as replacing the sound system and screen in the library’s lower-level stage room, McMullen-Smith said. Both the HVAC and the stage room equipment are old and not functioning well, she said.
To fund operations in the next fiscal year, the library is proposing a property tax levy of $4,923,548 for 2024-2025— a 9.46% increase over this year’s property tax levy.
The difference between the tax levy and the total operating budget will be funded by donations, state aid, income from contract districts and the use of fund balance, according to the proposed budget published by the library. A $275,000 state library grant will go toward the capital improvement program also.
The amount to be raised by property taxes results in a tax rate of $6.50 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, according to the proposed budget. On an “average” home in the Riverhead Central School District, according to the budget document, library taxes would be $291.20 for the year, an increase of $25 over the current year.
The property tax levy increase exceeds the tax levy limit of $4,648,024 — an excess of $275,524, according to the published budget documents. According to the Office of the New York State Comptroller, to pierce the tax levy limit, the library trustees can authorize piercing the limit with a 60% majority vote.
For more information on the budget, see the library director’s March 13 budget presentation, posted on the library’s website.
In addition to voting on the proposed budget, voters will elect three members of the library board of trustees. Four candidates are running for the three open seats: Susan Bergmann, Mitchell Hagler, Mary Byrne McDonnell and Joanna Pollistina. The trustee position is an unpaid volunteer post. Candidate bios are posted on the library’s website here.
The library is hosting a candidate meet-and-greet on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the library’s browsing room. The event provides an informal opportunity to meet and talk with the trustee candidates over a cup of coffee, McMullen-Smith said. All are welcome.
The budget vote and trustee election will take place from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9 at the library — located at 330 Court Street in Riverhead.
To be eligible to vote, a person must be a U.S. citizen, age 18 or older and a resident of the Riverhead Central School District for at least 30 days. Re-registration is required for residents who have not voted in a general, school district or library election for the past four years. For registration information, contact the school district clerk at 631-369-4724.
Correction: This article has been amended after publication to correct an error in the day reported for the candidate meet-and-greet event.
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