2023 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  twenty-five  qualified  voters  of  a  municipality  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.
(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.