Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library budget has proposed $18,000 increase

The Hewlett Woodmere Public Library has proposed a budget increase and has an open trustee seat on its board — both the budget vote and the election are on May 17.

For 2022-2023, the library is looking at a nearly $18,000 uptick from last year's budget, bringing the proposed total fiscal plan up to $6,611,229.

Though it may sound like a lot, the increase is very minimal, and is “a fraction of a percentage increase,” Library Director William Ferro said.

 “We're aware [of the increase] — we're trying to keep costs down, like everywhere else, due to pandemic pricing and everything else,” Ferro said. “We’ve also noticed everything is costing more, so I did my best to keep the budget as low as possible while still being able to provide the same service that we provided to the community.” 

While the Hewlett-Woodmere School District’s Board of Education has five candidates running for two seats, the library has one candidate, incumbent Shari Braverman, seeking re-election. This is a five-year term beginning July 1, 2022 and expiring on June 30, 2027.

Braverman, who grew up in the community, joined the parent advisory committee in 2006 and has been a member of the board of trustees since 2007. She served as treasurer from 2009 to 2010, vice president of the board from 2010 to 2016 and became president in 2016. “The library has always been a very important part of my life,” Braverman wrote.  

Braverman is running because, “I hope to continue and to build upon the library’s tradition of excellence,” she wrote in an email, “by offering our community access to books, information, cultural events and services (like museum passes) as well as entertainment, while keeping the tax levy well below the allowable tax cap.”

Braverman hopes to continue the work she has started with the board, such as landscaping, remodeling, and other improvements discussed by the long range planning committee as well as revisiting the feasibility of adding solar panels. 

The library’s current board includes Braverman, who is serving as president, Vice President Ayanna Layne, treasurer Ari Nakkab, and Trustee Ellen Kaknine.

Voting on the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library budget and trustee vote takes place alongside the Hewlett-Woodmere School District budget, trustee and proposition vote election is on May 17 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., at the Woodmere Education Center, 1 Johnson Place, in Woodmere.