Stone Ridge residents will vote on Aug. 11 to select a pair of Stone Ridge Library trustees from among three candidates as well as deliberate on a proposed budget hike for the library.
A recent press release, reporting on the election, stated that library officials will propose an expenditure of 217,642, which is a 14.8 increase over the 189,567 budget passed in 2006 (the last year in which an increase was requested).
Suzanne Hauspurg, president of the library board, expressed that the library had no alternative but to ask for the extra money, citing increasing overhead in the operation of the library as well as dropping value in common stock held by the organization.
"Our oil bill will nearly double this winter, to more than 9,000," she said, "and other expenses are soaring as well."
Hauspurg said the popularity of borrowing Internet borrowing had increased vastly, requiring an additional circulation clerk. "On top of that," she said, "the troubled securities markets have hurt our endowment."
Town of Marbletown Assessor Barbara Galloway said the increase would bring a average household's library tax bill to between 50 and 60, up about 5 from 2006.
Candidates for the two four-year trustee seats are incumbents Hauspurg and Jim Hoover and challenger Alan Marker.
The election will be held from 2-8 p.m. Aug. 11 at the library. Absentee ballots are available at the library and must be returned by the close of business on Aug. 11.
For more information about the election or the budget, call Library Director Jody Ford at (845) 687-7023 or Hauspurg at (845) 687-0736.
As a 35 year old, I have been living in the country all my life. Up until just a few years ago, I have never seen a Black Bear in a public area or close to my home. Now they are everywhere. Within the last few years, things have changed both in the population and the feeding habits of the Black Bear found in