NY Educ L § 259 (2021)
2021 New York Laws EDN - Education Title 1 - General Provisions Article 5 - University of the State of New York Part 2 - Libraries 259 - Library Taxes.

§  259.  Library  taxes.  1.  a. Taxes, in addition to those otherwise authorized, may be voted for library purposes by any authority named  in section  two hundred fifty-five of this part and shall, unless otherwise directed by such vote, be considered as annual  appropriations  therefor until  changed by further vote and shall be levied and collected yearly, or as directed, as are other general taxes. In  the  case  of  a  school district  the  appropriation  for library purposes shall be submitted to the voters of the district as proposed by the library board of  trustees in  a  separate  resolution  and shall not be submitted as a part of the appropriation of the necessary funds to meet the estimated  expenditures of  the  school district. All moneys received from taxes or other public sources for library purposes shall be kept as a separate library fund by the treasurer of the municipality or district making  the  appropriation and  shall  be  expended only under direction of the library trustees on properly authenticated vouchers, except that money received  from  taxes and  other  public sources for the support of a public library or a free association library or a cooperative library system shall be  paid  over to  the treasurer of such library or cooperative library system upon the written demand of its trustees. All such moneys paid over  to  a  public library  treasurer shall be deposited and secured in the manner provided by section ten of the general municipal law and the library trustees  or the  library treasurer, if the trustees shall delegate such duty to him, may invest such moneys in the manner provided by section eleven of  such law.   b.  * (1)  Except  as  provided in subparagraph two of this paragraph, whenever qualified voters of a municipality, in a  number  equal  to  at least  ten  per  centum  of  the  total  number  of  votes  cast in such municipality for governor at the last gubernatorial election,  shall  so petition  and  the library board of trustees shall endorse, the question of establishing or increasing  the  amount  of  funding  of  the  annual contribution  for  the  operating  budget of a registered public or free association library by such municipality to  a  sum  specified  in  said petition,  shall  be  voted  on  at  the  next  general election of such municipality, provided that due public notice  of  the  proposed  action shall have been given. Except that for the year two thousand twenty-one, the  number of qualified voters of a municipality needed to petition for purposes of this subparagraph shall be at least twenty-five. An increase in library funding provided pursuant to this paragraph shall  not  apply to a municipal budget adopted prior to the date of such election.   * NB Effective until December 31, 2021   * (1)  Except  as  provided  in  subparagraph  two  of this paragraph, whenever qualified voters of a municipality, in a  number  equal  to  at least  ten  per  centum  of  the  total  number  of  votes  cast in such municipality for governor at the last gubernatorial election,  shall  so petition  and  the library board of trustees shall endorse, the question of establishing or increasing  the  amount  of  funding  of  the  annual contribution  for  the  operating  budget of a registered public or free association library by such municipality to  a  sum  specified  in  said petition,  shall  be  voted  on  at  the  next  general election of such municipality, provided that due public notice  of  the  proposed  action shall  have been given. An increase in library funding provided pursuant to this paragraph shall not apply to a municipal budget adopted prior to the date of such election.   * NB Effective December 31, 2021  (2) Solely for the purposes of this paragraph, the term "municipality" shall:  (i) not include a city with a population of one million or more,  (ii) mean only a county when the  public  libraries  located  in  such county  are  members  of a federated public library system whose central library is located in  a  city  of  more  than  three  hundred  thousand inhabitants.   2.  In the case of a joint public library authorized to be established by two or more municipalities  or  districts  pursuant  to  section  two hundred  fifty-five  of  this  chapter,  the  governing  bodies  of  the participating municipalities and districts shall enter into an agreement designating the treasurer of one of the participating municipalities  or districts to be the treasurer of the joint public library. The agreement shall be for a period of not less than one year nor more than five years and  the  state  comptroller  and the commissioner of education shall be notified in writing by the board of library trustees of  such  agreement and designation.   The municipality or district whose treasurer is designated to serve as treasurer  of a joint public library may be compensated for the services rendered by such official to the library. The amount to be paid for such services shall be determined by agreement between the governing body  of the  municipality  or  district  and  the board of library trustees, and shall be paid at least annually from the public library fund.   3. The treasurer of a joint public library shall maintain the separate library fund required by subdivision  one  of  this  section  and  shall credit  to such fund all moneys received. The state aid apportioned to a joint public library, amounts appropriated by  participants  toward  its support and all amounts received from other sources shall be paid to the library   treasurer.   Appropriations   for  the  library  made  by  the participating municipalities or districts shall be paid in full  to  the library  treasurer  within sixty days after the beginning of the library fiscal year.   Disbursements for purposes of a joint public library shall be made  by the  treasurer  in  the  manner  prescribed  in  subdivision one of this section.   Within thirty days after the close of the fiscal  year  the  treasurer shall  make  an annual report of the receipt and disbursement of library moneys to the board of library trustees and to  the  governing  body  of each of the participating municipalities or districts.   4.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of subdivisions one and three of this section, the library trustees may by resolution establish  a  petty cash  fund, in such amount as they shall determine, for any employee who has supervision of any library or branch thereof. Expenditures from such fund may be made by such employee in advance of  audit  by  the  library trustees,  but  only  after  the  submission  of  properly  itemized and authenticated vouchers for materials, supplies or services furnished  to the  library or branch thereof and upon terms calling for payment to the vendor upon the delivery of  any  such  materials  or  supplies  or  the rendering  of any such services. At each meeting of the library trustees a list of all expenditures made from such fund since the last meeting of the trustees, together with the vouchers supporting  such  expenditures, shall  be  presented  by  such  employee  to  the  library trustees. The trustees shall direct the treasurer to reimburse such petty cash fund in an amount equal to the total of such bills which the trustees  shall  so allow.  Any of such bills or any portion of such bills which the library trustees shall refuse to allow shall be the personal liability  of  such employee  and  he  shall  promptly reimburse such petty cash fund in the amount of such disallowances. If such reimbursement has not been made by the time of the first payment of  salary  to  such  employee  after  the action  of  the  library  trustees in disallowing an amount so expended, such amount shall be withheld from such salary payment to such  employee  and,  if  necessary, subsequent salary payments and paid into such petty cash fund until an amount so disallowed by the library trustees has been repaid in full to the petty cash fund.