Library board asks Saranac Lake School Board to note levy request as library use climbs

Jacob Widrick, speaking for the library (speaker 10), presented the library’s proposed 2024 operating budget and told the Saranac Lake Central School District board on March 13 that his trustees are proposing a levy increase to close a continuing operational gap.

Widrick said the library’s operating budget for 2024 is “about $535,000” and described a rise in community use and programming that has increased demand on library services. He said the board hopes this request will be one of the larger increases the library will seek and that additional growth and expanded programming have driven the need to shore up recurring operating revenue.

Widrick discussed voter confusion about library levies and urged the board to help educate residents that the library tax appears as a separate line item and is collected through the same local mechanism. He said the library has increased hours and community programming and cited attendance figures provided in his presentation: “total attendance last year was 39,000,” and he referenced “51” for this year in the meeting presentation; the transcript did not specify whether that second figure referred to 51,000 or another unit, so that point should be clarified with the library’s published budget materials.

Board members thanked Widrick for presenting and asked for copies of the annual report and public materials, which Widrick said would be posted on the library’s new website and could be redistributed to the board. No final district action on the library request was taken at the meeting.

What happens next: the library’s materials and the district’s election timeline will determine when and how voters see the levy language on the ballot; the library representative said more detailed materials will be posted to the library website.