At the first public hearing for a new library at Minisink Valley Central School District—the only school district in Orange County, New York, without a public library—the proposed annual budget led the discussion for residents.
The library’s first-year operation is budgeted at $534,500, about one percent of the total school district tax levy.
A committee of residents supporting the library—Friends of Minisink Valley Public Library—is suggesting that every district family calculate their annual library tax by multiplying their school tax bill by 1 percent.
For example, if a family pays $6,000 in school tax, its library tax is around $60.
Mount Hope resident Paul Rickard said the calculation overlooks the fact that each town has a different equalization rate, so it doesn’t yield the real dollar amount that each family is going to pay.
Each municipality in New York assesses properties at a percentage of market value—which is called the equalization rate—depending on their varying budget needs.
Minisink Valley Central School District (MVCSD) covers four towns in western Orange County— Mount Hope, Greenville, Wawayanda, and Minisink—as well as portions of the towns of Wallkill and Mamakating.
“I think your mission is a great one, but it already exists. There is no difference other than paying more money for what you guys want to do,” Rickard said at the public hearing on Oct. 4.
Currently, MVCSD families can apply for one library card per household through their town clerk, which will get them access to Port Jervis and Middletown libraries.
Each card costs about $75, which is paid by town taxes.
Families with children attending MVCSD can access five school libraries.
Anne Friedel, a Mount Hope resident and member of Friends of Minisink Valley Public Library, said a new public library will offer residents more cultural and educational programs.
“We want programs that are tailored to our own community. Wouldn’t it be nice if we were a priority of our own library instead of having to be put on waiting lists of somebody else’s libraries?” Friedel said.
Once the new library enters the Ramapo Catskill Library System, district residents can enjoy its five-day-a-week delivery service, which allows them to borrow books from four dozen libraries within the system and pick up the books at their own library, she added.
Ron Myruski, a resident of Wawayanda, expressed concern about cost overruns as well as future cost bumps.
The largest chunk—42 percent—of the budget covers personnel costs, including salaries, social security, health insurance, and retirement contribution—which could fluctuate under economic conditions.
“How long would you be content with what you have written on this paper? How long before you would say, ‘Oh, we need to build something huge just like everyone else, and we have to spend five million on it?’” Myruski said.
The current budget proposes to rent a 2,000-square-foot space—which could be at Greenville Resource Center, a storefront within the school district, or other locations—at a monthly rent of $2,500.
Sue Shapiro, a Greenville resident and member of Friends of Minisink Valley Public Library, said the library budget, like the school budget, is controlled by residents.
“We cannot raise this budget by $1 without putting it out to a vote,” she said.
“We might have a small library now, but it’s going to be our own library. I want my community to have its own library that we can be proud of, that we can control, that we don’t have to worry that our elected officials decide one day not to renew the library contract with other cities,” Shapiro said.
In the early 2000s, Shapiro said she and her family had no access to any library for years because her town had no contracts with other cities. Since then, she has been advocating for a local public library.
New York state allows four types of libraries—association libraries, municipal public libraries, special district public libraries, and school district public libraries—the kind that MVCSD families are going to vote on. The library will be run by its own board, separate from the school board.
Dot Winner, a Wawayanda resident and member of Friends of Minisink Valley Public Library, echoed Shapiro’s sentiments.
“When my daughter was in sixth grade, I wanted to get her a library card of her own because it gives a kid dignity to have a library card, but she could not have one. I’m not proud of Minisink Valley School District, which is the only school district in Orange County and the only area in Orange County that does not have a library,” Winner said.
Another resident brought a spreadsheet that listed the number of books at Middletown Thrall Public Library and Port Jervis Free Library. She asked how many books the new MVCSD library would carry, but got no answer.
The resident declined to disclose her name to The Epoch Times.
A third of the budget, about $179,000, is expected to be spent on library materials.
Other residents are concerned the library might be far from the center of the 115-square-mile school district, and inconvenient for some residents.
“The location should be confirmed before we can vote on it,” one resident said.
The MVCSD public library referendum vote will take place on Oct. 18, 12 to 9 p.m., with two voting sites open at the Intermediate School and Otisville School Building.
The last public hearing on the library vote will be held on Oct. 11 at Greenville Resource Center at 6:30 p.m.
