April 01, 2011
To the Editor:
During the last fiscal year, Cornwall Public Library served nearly 150,000 visitors and circulated more than 175,000 items! Over time, the greater Cornwall community has also increased its demand for library services: book circulation has risen by 3 three percent; library staff provided more than 26,000 reference transactions (such as answering questions, special ordering books, providing computer assistance, etc.); and, program participation has risen dramatically (the Summer Reading program grew by 15 percent and adult programs by 14 percent. Whatever your age or interests, the Library provides a wealth of materials, activities and services to the residents of its service area, the Cornwall Central School District.
On Tuesday, April 12th, registered voters living in the District will have the opportunity to vote on the Library’s proposed operating budget for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. The Budget Vote will take place in the library’s community room from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The library will remain open until 9 p.m. on vote day for our patrons’ convenience.
This year, the Library board of trustees was faced with a real challenge – balancing rising fixed costs for health insurance and retirement while keeping the tax levy increase as low as possible and still maintaining the level of library services that the community values. In order to accomplish this, we opted to hold the budget lines for library materials, programming and office operations to current levels resulting in a tax levy increase of $73,749. This represents a yearly increase of $15.30 for a home with a fair market value of $400,000 in Cornwall (assessed at $250,000).
In these difficult economic times, the Cornwall Public Library is a bargain when you consider that the average price of a hard cover book is more than $22.00; a ticket to the local movie theater costs an adult $8.50 and open seating to hear the local symphony orchestra costs an adult $20.00!! Therefore, I urge you to vote in support of the Cornwall Public Library's budget, one of our community’s affordable treasures.
Sincerely,
Anna Morabito Tilley
Cornwall Public Library Board of Trustees
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