Local libraries to hold budget votes this week
Southold Town residents will head to the polls over the next week as they decide whether to approve the budgets of several local libraries.
The Mattituck-Laurel Library will hold its vote Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. On the table is a budget increase of 1.55 percent, which carries an additional tax cost of about $7.12 for the average household, according to the library’s fall newsletter.
Next Tuesday, Sept. 29, both Floyd Memorial Library in Greenport and Cutchogue-New Suffolk Free Library will conduct their votes.
At Floyd Memorial Library, polls will be open from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. The 2016 proposed budget carries with it a tax-rate increase of 3.25 percent, which corresponds to an added cost of about $6 per average household.
From 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., Cutchogue-New Suffolk Free Library is holding a vote on a six-month budget, which will last from Jan. 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016. Budget information is separated for Cutchogue residents and for New Suffolk residents.
Library director Jen Fowler said that will serve as an interim budget as they switch to a new fiscal year running from July to June. In doing so, they will have easier access to information from the state comptroller’s office regarding tax caps.
“Right now, when doing our budget, we’ve been hoping and guessing on our tax cap,” Ms. Fowler said. “The Board of Trustees felt that we want to get ourselves into the position to best receive the information.”
On April 5, 2016, the library will hold another vote on the full, year-long budget running from July 1, 2016 to June 31, 2017.
The Southold Free Library holds its budget vote in May.
