Voters of Pleasant Valley Have Chance to Fund Library Operations

On November 2 the registered voters of Pleasant Valley, in addition to the opportunity to vote for a governor, two national senators, a national congressman, and many local politicians, will also be able to vote up or down on funding for operating the Pleasant Valley Free Library in the future. State law provides that free-association libraries can choose to be funded primarily through town taxes, provided the voters agree.  For the past ten years, this has been the foundation of income for the Pleasant Valley Library. The amount is fixed by the vote and remains the same annually until the next vote, which is engendered by a sufficient number of registered voters petitioning to be on the ballot.

Library funding will be on this year's ballot as a result of petitions from voters--actually on the back of the new paper ballots.  Be sure to look for it there and vote yes to maintain the services of the Library at the level you have come to know. Because of decreases in State and County funding combined with inflation, this Town tax increase is needed just to keep the same hours, staff, and new items that we now have.

Here are some of the questions you may have about the ballot initiative along with the answers.

1. How much of an increase is the library asking for?

We are asking for an increase of $95,000, which is roughly $26 per household per year; the cost of one large cup of Dunkin Donuts Coffee a month, or, fifty cents a week.  This means we will move from being 11^th in funding in the county to 10^th in funding. 

2. Why now?

When the library previously asked for an increase 4 years ago, the Library Board promised to make the money last for 3 years before making another request.  We have managed to stretch it for four years but now, in order to make up for the cuts in state and county funding an increase is necessary.  A library whose town support is 13^th county wide, such as ours is, cannot afford to keep up the circulation and programming level that we do without town support.  If the vote does not pass, the library is going to have to cut services.

3. Will any of this money go towards a new building for the library?

No.  None of the money being requested will go towards a new library.

4. Why can’t the library get the money somewhere else?

The library makes every effort to apply for grants when they are available, but there are almost no grants which will go towards a library’s operating budget. There is not much federal, state or county funding available for libraries.  In fact, most community libraries receive the lion’s share of their funding from the town they are located in.  Each library, therefore, is really a reflection of the support it receives from its community.  

5. What happened to state and county funding?

Between the state and county cutting of library support, our library has lost thousands in funding.  Also, the state and county paid for some state mandated services that they are no longer willing to fund, which will mean thousands in extra library expenses for services we are legally required to have.  Therefore, without changing anything, the library finds itself with a sudden deficit.