On Thursday, May 16 at 6 p.m. in the community room of the Kingston Library at 55 Franklin St., Kingston Library will hold a public forum on its June 4 election. At the public forum, the library’s proposed 2014 tax appropriation and overall 2014 budget will be reviewed. Also on June 4, voters will elect five trustees to the library board of trustees. The candidates running for those seats are invited to be present at the public forum to discuss their candidacy; the five candidates running for seats on the board are Ursula M. Inghem, Heather Ohlson, David Rolfe, Susan Simek and Kendra Soule. The top three vote recipients will each be elected for a term of three years. The next two vote recipients will each be elected for a one year term to fill the uncompleted terms of two trustees who resigned mid-term.
The library is seeking approval of a $749,161 tax appropriation to support the library’s budget. The $749,161 tax appropriation request is an increase of $14,689 over the 2013 appropriation. Much of this increase is budgeted to pay for tax refunds resulting from property assessment reductions, library officials say. Kingston Library paid $8,000 in tax refunds in 2012. The total proposed budget for 2014 is $813,361, $14,639 or slightly more than 1.8 percent more than the current 2013 budget.
Voting June 4 will be held between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. at the Kingston Library, 55 Franklin St. which is the sole polling place for voting. Absentee ballots will be sent to shut-ins in the city of Kingston or can be requested by contacting the library directly at (845) 331-0507. Absentee ballots must be returned to the library by 5 p.m. June 4.
For more information about the library election, call Margie Menard at 845-339-4260, etx. 14
The Kingston Library is more than books, DVD’s & CD’s and computers. It’s a village square in my mid-town neighborhood where residents can meet and hang out and feel safe; it’s a cultural center, with programming for children and adults; the library provides space for classes (from Bard College and elsewhere); tutors meet students there, helping them get up to speed when they fall behind in their classwork; and the list goes on. Library Director Menard’s budget addresses a shortfall that comes about through no fault of any spending increase the library is seeking. We should all show our support for this valuable community asset by voting in support of the new proposed budget.