Stephentown Memorial Library
472 State Route 43, Stephentown, New York 12168
Telephone (518) 733-5750
January 18, 2013
Laurenne Teachout
Library Director
In 2010, SML:
Offered 165 community
programs
Provided space for over
200 additional
community meetings
Welcomed 12,000
individual visits by
patrons
Circulated 20,673 books,
DVDs and CDs
Provided free Wi-Fi
service to library users
and our “parking lot”
users!
Provided low-cost
printing, copying and fax
services
Offered free museum
passes to most local
museums
Sue Brissette Cass,
President
Mona Berg
Jennifer Cummings
Betsy Feathers
Linda Griffin Smith, Vice
President
Janet Ivory,
Secretary
Pamela Kueppers,
Treasurer
Lynda Lewis
Thomas Pecararo
Steve Pentak
Jerome Tracy
Dear Friend of the Library,
We are writing to tell you about an expected vote concerning the future of the Stephentown
Memorial Library. On March 19, 2013, the Trustees of the Stephentown Memorial Library
expect to ask residents of the Town of Stephentown to vote on the proposition to make
Stephentown Memorial Library a Special Legislative District Library (SLDL). As an SLDL, the
library would continue to serve the residents of Stephentown, but the town residents would
be able to elect the Library’s Board of Trustees and the library would be funded by tax
dollars. We will hold a public meeting and library annual meeting in February 2013, closer to
the election, to fully explain the proposition, but we wanted to give you this information
ahead of time to allow you to begin to think about this decision which is so important to the
future of our town’s public library.
Today’s Stephentown Memorial Library
 The center of community
activity
 Over 1,000 users each
month
 Provides products and
services that residents would
otherwise have to drive out of town
for
 Offers wi-fi access and 10
publicly accessible computers to
connect users with the Internet
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Open 36 hours a week
Facilitates local economic development
through support of small business
Employs six people part time
Attracts grant funding to the
community
The go-to organization for most
community activities
In a community that has lost its school and local grocery store,
our library has shown that a Stephentown enterprise can thrive.
The Problem
Stephentown Memorial Library’s success shows that Stephentown wants and needs a strong library …
but this success can’t continue without a reliable, sustainable funding model to support library services.
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Town funding, which is now only 51% of the library’s budget, continues to shrink.
Volunteers must fundraise $33,000 annually to cover operating expenses, including staff payroll.
Bottom line, the current situation is not sustainable. Without a change to more stable funding, the
library’s operating hours and programming will have to be reduced.
Special Legislative District Library
In order to ensure access to library services in the future, New York State is urging libraries like
Stephentown Memorial Library to become a Special Legislative District Library (SLDL). If approved by the
voters this designation will:
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Allow the library’s budget to be directly funded by tax dollars through a town vote (like the
Stephentown Fire Department).
Ensure that the library has a stable annual budget to maintain essential programs and services.
Replace the appointed board with volunteer trustees elected by town residents.
The service area of the library, the Town of Stephentown, would remain the same. The library’s name,
which is a continuing living memorial to our veterans, would also remain unchanged.
The New York State legislature has authorized Stephentown to hold a public vote on this proposed
change to Special Legislative District status.
Impact for Stephentown Memorial Library and the Stephentown community
Stephentown Memorial Library can continue to provide the programs and services the community
needs and wants:
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Additional morning hours will be added, particularly for families with small children
Additional evening hours will be added, particularly for working people, especially commuters
Additional funds for library materials including books, ebooks and DVD’s
Additional funds for library programming for all users groups (children, teens, seniors, etc.)
Impact on Taxes
The proposed annual budget for the Stephentown Memorial Library as a Special Legislative District
Library is $ 125,000.
Stephentown property tax is based on assessed property value, which is approximately 30% of market
value. For example, if you own a house worth $150,000, the assessed value is approximately $44,850.
(Average assessed value of a house in Stephentown is $44,300.)
The Town currently provides $42,500 to the Library. If that $42,500 is removed from the town budget
and becomes part of the library tax, the additional cost will be $1.06/$1000. If your house is worth
$150,000, your additional local tax to maintain the library will be $47/year. If the $42,500 is not
removed, the additional cost will be $1.60/$1000 or $71/year.
The increase represents at most, $1.36/week for the average homeowner. Stephentown voters should
have the opportunity to choose whether or not they will pay a tax increase of less than the cost of a cup
of coffee once a week in order to keep our community’s library services in place.
Please vote
This is an important decision for the future of our public library and our community. Our job as the
Library Board of Trustees is to give you the facts so you can make an informed decision. We hope that
you will study the situation and express your opinion by voting on March 19, 2013. The vote will be
held at the library, 7am to 8pm.
If you need more information or would like to ask a question, feel free to call one of the board members
with a telephone number listed.
Stephentown Memorial Library Board of Trustees,
Sue Brissette Cass, President
733-6488
Linda Griffin Smith, VP
Pam Kueppers , Treasurer
441-5116
Janet Ivory, Secretary
733-0348
Mona Berg
Jenny Cummings
Betsy Feathers
Lynda Lewis
Thom Pecoraro
Jerome Tracy
810-3418
Stephen Pentak