Riverhead Free Library budget hearing set for Tuesday
Riverhead Free Library’s proposed $3.6 million budget for 2016-17 will be the subject of a public hearing Tuesday.
Library officials say the spending plan, which carries a 2.3 percent tax levy increase, is within the state’s tax cap.
Personnel costs, which account for the budget’s biggest expense, are proposed to increase by 1.4 percent to $2.7 million. The cost of library materials, like books, is set to increase by less than 1 percent — from $367,500 to $369,237.
“The Board of Trustees determined that it was important to maintain high-demand services while keeping the budget as low as possible,” the library budget message states. “The 2016-2017 proposed budget represents minor adjustments in many budget lines, as every possible cost-cutting measure is utilized without cutting materials or services.”
Tuesday’s hearing is set for 7 p.m. in the library’s craft room.
The actual budget vote will take place Tuesday, April 5, between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. in the library’s grand meeting room. The vote is technically an agreement to provide library services to residents in the Riverhead School District. Like the school district, the library district incorporates parts of Riverhead, Southampton and Brookhaven towns.
