Governor Spitzer has initiated a statewide program to look into the consolidation of special districts. Special districts include water, parks/roads, sanitation, sewers, fire departments, and libraries. To facilitate research into the feasibility of this action, the Governor has appointed the NYS Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness. Their website can be found here: www.nyslocalgov.org. In their preliminary report which can be found under Local Initiatives by County, library district consolidation is the fourth bullet under this heading.
The second part of this investigation has been initiated by a letter from the Governor to local governments to identify at least one major merger or consolidation. The Nassau County Executive has commissioned “a cost-benefit analysis, feasibility study and implementation for the consolidation of government services.” Three firms have been chosen to develop proposals in four service areas: parks, school business functions, road maintenance, and libraries. School Districts are also considered Special Districts, but it was decided that since communities identify strongly with their school districts, these are not being included in any consolidation plan as a whole, however, the maintenance, printing, and transportation operations of school districts are being considered.
As proposed, there would be one library board appointed by the County Executive and the library budget will be part of the larger county’s budget. An assumption could be made that libraries would be prioritized along with the County’s parks and museums. The residents of East Meadow identify strongly with the Library, as they do their school district and have built one of the finest libraries in Nassau County. It is the geographic center of the town and an intellectual and cultural hub of life in East Meadow.
We ask you to look at your tax bill. What percentage of your total tax goes to your library? Are you willing to risk losing the services you have currently in exchange for a very small cut in your taxes which might add up to a very few dollars? The best-supported public libraries in Nassau County only account for approximately 4% of local property taxes. The Board, Administration and Staff of your library are committed to saving taxes. After all, we live here too! Yet we do not want to compromise local library identity, diminish library services, reduce hours of service, eliminate facilities, or sacrifice local control.
What can you do to stop this movement toward consolidation and losing local control over your library? Contact your local legislators to show them you support keeping the East Meadow Public Library under the control of the residents of the East Meadow School District.
For more information, please visit our Administration, Public Relations or Community Services office or use the "Contact Us" link at the very bottom of this page.
