Library budget vote on Nov. 2

MONROE-The Monroe Free Library's annual operating budget will be decided by the voters on Tuesday, Nov. 2. Town Proposition Number One on the ballot reads: Shall the annual contribution of Town of Monroe for the operating budget of the Monroe Free Library be increased by $83,364 to the sum of $922,550 annually? Yes or No. The Nov. 2 referendum is solely for the library budget. The vote on a new library building will take place in the spring of 2005. According to library officials, voting "yes" would mean that the library would use the increased funds to purchase the latest books, magazines and DVDs as well as to continue providing Internet classes and programs. Library officials estimate that the cost of the $83,364 increase per $1,000 of assessed valuation would amount to 19 cents. Residents in the Town of Monroe currently pay $2 per $1,000 of assessed value for library services. In a recent survey of libraries in the area's Ramapo-Catskill Library System, the Monroe Free Library ranked 31 out of 47 libraries rated. One factor used in determining the rankings is the amount of money spent per resident by each library. Details of the 2005 budget are available at the library at 44 Millpond Parkway in the Village of Monroe and at the library's Web site, www.monroelibrary.org/budget.htm.