Higher taxes and longer hours

By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer
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First published: Tuesday, September 9, 2008
CLIFTON PARK -- Residents of the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library District will pay slightly more to fund their library next year under a proposed $3.79 million budget, but in return they'll get more time during the week to browse the stacks and the Web.

Extended library hours are included in the proposed 4 percent spending increase on the ballot Thursday. As of this month, the Moe Road library already has started staying open an extra half-hour, until 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday.

If the budget passes, library officials also will look to open an hour earlier on Fridays, at 9 a.m., and on Sundays during July and August, all in response to a patron survey conducted this year. Those changes would take effect Jan. 2.

Beyond the expanded hours, other increases stem mostly from unavoidable expenses such as energy costs. Those costs, Library Director Alexandra Gutelius points out, likely would have been more dramatic had the library not recently completed its new "green," more energy-efficient building.

The spending plan calls for a tax rate increase of 4 cents per $1,000 of assessed value -- meaning a tax rate of $1.03 per $1,000 of assessed value in Clifton Park and roughly 99 cents per $1,000 of assessed value in Halfmoon.

The rates differ because of the differing equalization rates in the towns, which measure assessed property value versus actual market value. The tax rate increase is roughly 4 percent in both communities.

For someone who owns a $200,000 home in Clifton Park, the increase would mean an additional $8 in 2009 for a total library tax bill of $206.40. A similar house in Halfmoon would carry a library tax bill of $199.40.

Of the total budget, $3.43 million comes from taxes.

Two seats from Clifton Park are also available on the library's 11-member board of trustees, and two candidates are running. The seats are divided between the two towns, 7-4 in favor of the more populous Clifton Park. Only Clifton Park residents can vote for the trustee seats.

Trustee Christene Thurston is seeking re-election to another five-year term on the board, on which she has served since 2000.

In place of trustee Marilyn Otto, who is not seeking re-election, is John A. Cosgrove, an eight-year town resident and librarian at Skidmore College. Residents of the district who are registered voters and have lived in either town at least 30 days before Thursday's referendum are eligible to vote. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the library's lobby.

For more information, visit http://www.cphlibrary.org.

Jordan Carleo-Evangelist can be reached at 454-5445 or by e-mail at jcarleo-evangelist@ timesunion.com.