Port Washington Library: No Public Budget Vote This Year

PORT WASHINGTON, NY — The Port Washington Public Library will not hold a public vote on its 2020-21 budget and instead roll its current budget forward a year. Additionally, residents will have to vote for a library board of trustee seat on mail-in ballots sent out by the Port Washington Union Free School District.

In a letter the community Tuesday morning, the library's Board of Trustees said the decision not to hold a budget vote stems from the coronavirus and is compliant with state law.

The proposed budget initially called for a 1 percent tax levy increase. The board said that increase is "no longer in the best interests of our community," given that many people are struggling financially and the library’s expenses have been lower than expected as a result of the building remaining closed for an extended period of time.

The board said a mail-in ballot election required by the state would be costly for taxpayers, impractical to conduct by June 9 and would expose staff to "unnecessary risk" because they would need to be physically in the building to send and receive ballots.

"Taking everything into consideration, the Board has decided to avail ourselves of this option and will roll the current budget forward for the 2020-2021 fiscal year with no increase in the tax levy," the board said.