Two years ago, in 2024, the Hudson Area Library sought, by referendum, increases to its operating budget from the City of Hudson and the Town of Greenport: $50,000 from the City of Hudson, increasing its annual contribution from $350,000 to $400,000; $10,000 from the Town of Greenport, increasing its annual contribution from $85,000 to $95,000.
Now, just two years later, the library is going back to the well, with referenda on the ballots for the upcoming election in both Hudson and Greenport. In Hudson, the library is seeking another $50,000, increasing the City's annual contribution from $400,000 to $450,000. In Greenport, the library is seeking $30,000, increasing the Town's annual contribution from $95,000 to $125,000.
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It’s hilarious that people complain about the budget and taxes, then vote for this. Tom DP used to make light of this irony and I agree with him that point.
ReplyDeleteIf there are 3-4 de facto taxing authorities (HCSD, City of Hudson, Columbia County + one of Library referendum type taxes etc.) then it is harder for government and taxpayers to weigh trade-offs.
ReplyDeleteIts like giving every kid a credit card with no budget between them.
So the taxes just go up.
No one is asking: should we A) fund the Youth Center more, OR should we fund the Youth Center less, and increase funding to the Library, which performs important and valuable youth services and is programming space for all.
So right now everyone just taxes more, there is little push-back since Hudson is a one-party town... the taxes go up... which doesn't impact wealthy residents or residents in public housing, but it does push out (or as Hudsonians say "displace") the Working Middle Class.
There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
Can live without either of these.
ReplyDeleteSpend less, live within your means.
The repeated requests for additional library funding raise a question larger than whether each individual increase seems modest: Is the scale of the operation sustainable for the communities expected to support it?
ReplyDeleteAt the heart of this is the trustees’ original decision to accept Galvan’s offer and occupy a facility of this scale. Nominal rent made the opportunity attractive, but inexpensive space is not inexpensive operation. Give an organization the space and it will tend to fill it—with programs, staff and the expenses necessary to sustain them. Taxpayers are then asked to pay, one seemingly modest increase at a time.
Did the trustees adequately consider those continuing obligations when they accepted the offer? Was the scale appropriate to the population served, its likely future needs and its ability to pay? A generous offer does not, by itself, make accepting it a sound long-term decision.
Annual visit totals do not settle the question. They count repeat visits and tell us little about how broadly benefits are distributed across households—or whether comparable benefits could be delivered at lower cost. The library’s value is not in dispute; the appropriate scale and cost of its operation are.
Before seeking further increases, the trustees should present a multiyear plan that relates spending to population trends, demonstrated needs and taxpayers’ ability to pay. That review should seriously consider consolidating programs, adjusting staffing and hours, and reducing space where appropriate.
“A little more” from each municipality, repeatedly, is not a long-term financial strategy. The communities should support a library sized to their needs and resources—not be expected indefinitely to finance an operation sized to the building they were offered.