N.Y. Education Law § 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.