Library Tax Levy Ballot Proposition

The Skaneateles Central School District Board of Education Election and Budget Vote will take place from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM on Tuesday, May 20, 2025 at the District Office located at 45 East Elizabeth Street. Absentee ballots are available. Please visit skanschools.org for more information.

Applications for absentee ballots and early mail ballots may be applied for at the office of the District Clerk. Applications must be received by the District Clerk no earlier than 30 days before the vote but at least seven (7) days before May 19, 2026 if the ballot is to be mailed to the absentee voter, and must be received by the District Clerk the day before the date of the vote set forth in this notice if the ballot is to be delivered personally to the voter.

All completed ballots shall be returned to the office of the District Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. on May 19, 2026.

Skaneateles CSD
45 East Elizabeth Street
Skaneateles, NY 13152
315-291-2221
Office Hours 7:30–4:00 pm

Proposition III
“Shall the sum to be raised by annual levy of a tax upon the taxable real property within the Skaneateles Central School District for the purpose of funding the Skaneateles Library Association be $991,294”

The funding from the proposed levy will be used to support two components:

• Operating costs: $453,560
  This includes a $25,000 increase over last year to account for the rising cost of doing business. Even so, the Skaneateles Library levy will still cover only 78% of operating expenses, compared to the 90–99% covered at comparable libraries.

• Debt Service: $537,734
  The average annual debt service payments on the 25-year bond that will provide approximately half of the total project cost  to build a brand new library for our community. Half of the total cost of the project has  been funded through private donations, and foundation and government grants which reduces the impact to taxpayers.

Two reasons. First, our library tax levy currently covers only 78% of annual operating expenses, well below the 90–99% typical of comparable libraries in the region. Second, we need to fund the debt service on a bond for a new library building.

The total levy request is $991,294: $453,560 for operations (a $25,000 increase) and $537,734 for annual debt service on a 25-year bond. Nearly half the cost of the new library is already covered by private donations and state construction grants. When the bond is paid off the levy will be reduced by $537,734, the debt service portion of the levy.

Even with this increase, Skaneateles homeowners will pay far less than residents in peer communities, which spend 1.5 to 4 times more in library taxes. In Skaneateles, a $1 million home currently pays $120 per year; after the increase, it will pay $243.

This is an investment in both the present and future of our community. This levy increase makes possible something Skaneateles has long needed: a brand new library – a space designed for the way our community lives, learns, and connects today and for generations to come.

No. The May 19 vote is moving forward. The library respects the Planning Board’s role and authority in reviewing the site plan. Their  recent decision means the Library will revise and resubmit its plans as part of that process. We appreciate that the Village Planning Board provided a clear roadmap of exactly what design elements are required to obtain a permit – those modifications are already underway at no cost to the library. This does not affect the May 19 tax levy vote.

The May 19 proposition is about funding — specifically, whether the community supports the tax levy increase needed to help complete the funding plan for the new library. 

The Library Board is committed to working with the Village, the Planning Board, and our professional team to address the feedback received, revise and resubmit the plans, and keep the project moving forward responsibly. 

Large public building projects include multiple steps that often happen at the same time, including design review, zoning review, permitting, fundraising, and financing. The goal remains the same: to deliver the best possible library for Skaneateles.

The path forward is clear: the Library will revise and resubmit its plans, and the community vote on funding will proceed on May 19. The vote is a critical piece needed to move the project forward.

The current library building has served Skaneateles and the surrounding area for more than 130 years. It remains valued and active, but it cannot fully support how the community uses the library today, particularly in accessibility and usable space.

Library participation continues to grow:

• Cardholders increased 32% in five years
• Programs increased 41% in one year, with over 8,000 people attending 431 programs
• Checkouts are at their highest level since 2007

The proposed project creates a library designed for modern use, with spaces for children, teens, families, older adults, programs, and groups of all kinds.
Learn more about the current library vision at ItTakesALibrary.org

After the new library building on Fennell Street is completed and the library moves its operations there, we will sell the current building to the Barrow Gallery. We are thrilled that both beloved institutions will have the opportunity to grow independently. The Barrow has been at 49 E Genesee Street almost as long as the library has and will be a wonderful steward of this historic gem.

This project has been planned carefully over many years, with major decisions made step by step and in public.

In 2019, after extensive study of renovation versus relocation options, the Library Board voted to build a new library at a new site. Over the following year, the Board evaluated 19 potential sites, ultimately selecting 75 Fennell Street in 2020. The site underwent thorough due diligence — environmental, structural, and otherwise with acceptable results for planned llibrary use. The Town and Library agreed on sale terms in 2021, and the Library purchased the property from the Town on October 31, 2022.

Fundraising began in the silent phase in 2022, and architectural design work began in 2023. Since then, the Building Committee has continued to work with architects, engineers, construction professionals, donors, and community members to refine the project and its financial plan. From early in the process, the Board has considered multiple funding sources, including private donations, public fundraising, private foundation grants, public grants, and bonding. Bonding was discussed as a possible funding option at the January 2024 board meeting, alongside other sources, and continued throughout 2024. The public phase of the capital campaign kicked off in September 2025, and schematic design was completed in December 2025. The Board began formal work on bonding options in 2025 as the public fundraising campaign expanded and formally engaged the firm Fiscal Advisors and Marketing, Inc. in December 2025 to assist with the bonding process.

The vote on May 19 is an important next step. It allows the Library to continue moving forward, complete the remaining steps, and build a library that will serve Skaneateles for generations.

Libraries, like all public institutions, face rising costs over time: staff wages, insurance, utilities, and materials all increase year over year. To stay ahead of these pressures, many libraries request modest cost-of-living adjustments, ensuring financial sustainability and continuity of service rather than allowing gaps to grow and requiring larger corrections later.
The new library has been designed with future costs in mind. Based on current projections, we only anticipate an increase of up to 10 % in operating costs for the new space. As a service organization, our biggest and most important expense is personnel — the people who staff the building seven days a week, acquiring and processing materials, providing programs and technology support, and making the library the resource our community depends on. Even though the new building will double our current space, its flexible and efficient design means we will not need additional staff to run it.
Some costs will increase. Insurance and cleaning expenses are tied to square footage, so those will rise. We also expect higher technology and utility costs, though we are prioritizing sustainable design features that will benefit both the environment and our operating budget over the long term.

We do not anticipate needing a corresponding levy increase to cover these higher operating costs.  The gap will be bridged through ongoing fundraising efforts, Friends of the Library memberships, in-library and annual book sales, grants, and interest from the library’s investment holdings — revenue streams that have long supported the library and will continue to do so.

That said, any future increase request, should one ever be needed, must be approved by voters.

A bond allows a public entity to borrow funds for a long-term community asset and repay it gradually. Instead of paying the full cost at once, the community repays the amount through annual payments funded by the tax levy.

Funding comes from several sources:

• Private donations from over 700 community members
• New York State grants
• Skaneateles Library Investment
• Foundation grants
• Public funding through the tax levy increase

More than $7.3 million has already been secured, which reduces the amount that must be financed publicly. The remaining portion would be financed through a public bond, which allows the cost to be spread over the first 25 years of the useful life of the new library rather than paid at the time of construction. This way, the cost is borne evenly between those using the library now and those using it in the future.

The current total project budget is $16,247,183. This is the “all-in” project budget and includes the purchase of the land, construction costs, site work, professional fees, furniture, fixtures, equipment, and project contingency.

The Library has been working closely with LeChase as construction manager throughout the planning and budgeting process and expects to enter into a construction contract before construction begins.

As with any major construction project, the budget includes contingency funds to help manage unexpected costs or cost changes. Approximately $1 million in contingency is built into the current project budget.

The Library Board will continue to manage the project carefully and responsibly, with the goal of borrowing only what is needed. The Library will not return to taxpayers for additional funding for this building project. If additional funds are needed, the Library will continue to pursue private donations, grants, and other non-taxpayer funding sources.

The library receives an annual levy from taxpayers in the Skaneateles Central School District. In addition to public support, the library relies on income from investments, book sales, donations and grants to meet our community’s needs.

Surrounding libraries request and receive regular increases in public funding to help offset increased expenses. Other libraries in Onondaga County receive between 75% and 99% of their budgets from local public funds, with the average at around 92%. The Skaneateles Library currently receives about 78% of its budget from public funding.

As of May 2026, the Library has raised  $7.5 million through private donations, grants, Library investment, and foundation support.

Of that amount, 60% has already been received, with the remainder committed through pledges. As is customary in capital campaigns, the Library has planned for pledge risk and included a contingency assumption in the financial plan.

If any pledge is not fulfilled, the Library Board would manage that through continued fundraising, available contingencies, project budgeting, and responsible borrowing decisions. The goal remains the same: borrow only what is needed and protect taxpayers.

No. There will not be any additional requests for the new building construction costs beyond what is presented to voters. The current proposed tax levy is designed to fully support the balance of the project.

Even with the proposed increase, Skaneateles homeowners will pay significantly less than residents in comparable Central New York communities, which spend 1.5 to 4 times more on library taxes. Currently, the owner of a $1 million home pays $120 per year; after the increase, that amount would be $243.

This is an investment in both the present and future of our community. This levy increase makes possible something Skaneateles has long needed: a brand new library – a space designed for the way our community lives, learns, and connects today and for generations to come.

We will only borrow the amount of funds needed to complete the project.

If we are able to borrow less than originally anticipated, we will reassess the tax levy amount at that time so it reflects the actual annual debt service of the issued bond. We are committed to passing those savings directly to taxpayers in the next district vote cycle

Approval of the tax levy increase gives the library the funding necessary to cover the annual debt service on a bond of up to $8.55 million allows us to move forward with the project. It does not mean we will automatically borrow the full amount if we can obtain additional funds through grants and donations as we move forward. Our goal is to minimize that borrowing as much as possible.

We plan to use available funds and continue fundraising first, and will issue a bond for what is needed to complete the project. Because there is a gap in time between the tax levy vote and when we will need to borrow, every additional dollar raised reduces the amount we need to borrow.

The library’s proposition is unrelated to the school budget. New York State allows association libraries to ask residents of a school district or municipality for funding by ballot proposition, which is approved by majority vote. This method gives residents a direct say in the level of funding their local library receives.

The library budget is completely separate from the school budget. The district merely collects funds approved by the voters and disburses them to the library. School taxes fund the schools, and library taxes fund the library. School and library taxes appear on the same bill and are paid at the same time, but the school district and the library are two separate entities.

Yes. The tax cap limits annual levy growth to the lesser of 2% or the rate of inflation, subject to certain limited exemptions and adjustments for growth in the full value of taxable real property.

The Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) is expected to make the library’s 2026-27 fiscal year tax cap data available in mid-April 2026.

An association library board can propose a tax levy that exceeds the tax cap with a 60% vote of their total board; after considerable planning and evaluation by the board’s finance committee, Skaneateles Library trustees unanimously approved a tax cap override – in the event that it is needed – at a regular meeting on December 9, 2025. The proposed levy must be approved by a simple majority of voters (+50%) and is planned for use in the library’s 2026-27 operating budget.