Board sets budget dates

The Franklin Square Public Library Board of Trustees will hold the 2016-17 budget-hearing on March 29 at 7 p.m. and the budget vote on April 13.

While the board has yet to calculate the specific values in the budget, the trustees believe that the tax cap will be approximately half of one percent, which falls within the state 2 percent tax cap.

“Whatever we do in planning our budget, we want it to come out that our tax levy isn’t going up by more than half of a percent,” said Trustee Pat Galaska. “That’s seriously going to be a challenge.”

In addition to setting dates for the budget process, the board also formed a long-range committee, charged with determining the future of library in five years. In 2014, the board completed a long-range assessment, with the help of the Nassau Library System and installed handicap accessible ramps and doors after receiving community feedback. The results from that committee, while helpful, didn’t meet the expectations of Galaska, who wanted to see the library acquire data on people who don’t use the library.

“We were unsuccessful, I think, in tapping that segment of the community,” said Galaska. “I feel it doesn’t help you a whole lot to talk to the people who are already using the library.”

The board has started to use the Kiwanis spring and fall street fairs in Franklin Square to attract new users to the library.

“That’s been a very valuable assistance for us in getting some input from people who are saying ‘I didn’t even know where the library is located’,” said Trustee Bill Youngfert. “We want to try to do something else besides that to try to get some input.” The committee will finish the study in 2019.