Brewster Library to the Ballot

As children packed the for one of its weekly programs, library director Maria Steinberg praised the building’s widespread popularity among residents in the Village of Brewster and the Town of Southeast.

“Most people are very much in favor of the library,” Steinberg said. The 10-year director spoke about its service to the public—from author Gail Carson Levine’s weekly writing workshop to its monthly book discussion group, the Brewster Library has been the village’s educative staple since 1896.  

However, lack of money has library officials concerned for the future.

The Southeast Town Board cut the library’s budget by $18,000—to $180,000 from $198,000 a year.

According to Steinberg, the Brewster Public Library needs almost double that—$320,000—to properly staff, maintain and ensure its daily functions.   

Though the town board cannot fill the budget gap, the trustees accepted a petition of 940 verified signatures on July 28 to put the library’s financial future up to a vote. In a unanimous decision, the board will allow taxpayers to decide in November if they want to tackle the challenge of increasing their own taxes to support the Brewster Public Library.

“The whole purpose of this is to get the whole town to vote and not just five people on the board,” said Rick Voss, the library’s president for the past 10 years.  

The petition comes in light of the New York State Education Law's Proposition 414, which was passed by former governor George Pataki in 1995. The bill allows small libraries to appeal directly to the voters for town funding.

Steinberg said that according to Southeast’s tax assessor Laurie Bell, taxpayers currently pay $22.00 per household a year to fund the library. If the budget is approved in November, this figure would increase to $42.82 a year. According to Steinberg, this number is still half of what surrounding libraries need to operate.

“I hope the public will do the right thing and vote,” Steinberg said. “It’s going to mean a lot for the people that use that library.”

If the taxpayers vote to support the budget, the Brewster Public Library would return to its regular hours, initiate more programs and hire or reemploy staff that may have been let go due to the cuts. Steinberg said she’s thankful for the initial petition and remains optimistic that the coming election will revitalize the library's services. 

“I’m very happy at this point to go forward,” Steinberg said.

If taxpayers do not approve the tax increase, the library would be forced to request help from Town Hall. Voss hopes that library’s overall rapport will be enough to sway voters in November.

“If the town decides that they don’t want the library, they can vote ‘no,’” Voss said. “All of this is according to the democratic process—but most people that I’ve talked to are in favor of the library.”