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