§ 259 — Library taxes

§ 259. Library taxes. 1. a. Taxes, in addition to those otherwise\nauthorized, may be voted for library purposes by any authority named in\nsection two hundred fifty-five of this part and shall, unless otherwise\ndirected by such vote, be considered as annual appropriations therefor\nuntil changed by further vote and shall be levied and collected yearly,\nor as directed, as are other general taxes. In the case of a school\ndistrict the appropriation for library purposes shall be submitted to\nthe voters of the district as proposed by the library board of trustees\nin a separate resolution and shall not be submitted as a part of the\nappropriation of the necessary funds to meet the estimated expenditures\nof the school district. All moneys received from taxes or other public\nsources for library purposes shall be kept as a separate library fund by\nthe treasurer of the municipality or district making the appropriation\nand shall be expended only under direction of the library trustees on\nproperly authenticated vouchers, except that money received from taxes\nand other public sources for the support of a public library or a free\nassociation library or a cooperative library system shall be paid over\nto the treasurer of such library or cooperative library system upon the\nwritten demand of its trustees. All such moneys paid over to a public\nlibrary treasurer shall be deposited and secured in the manner provided\nby section ten of the general municipal law and the library trustees or\nthe library treasurer, if the trustees shall delegate such duty to him,\nmay invest such moneys in the manner provided by section eleven of such\nlaw.\n b. (1) Except as provided in subparagraph two of this paragraph,\nwhenever twenty-five qualified voters of a municipality shall so\npetition and the library board of trustees shall endorse, the question\nof establishing or increasing the amount of funding of the annual\ncontribution for the operating budget of a registered public or free\nassociation library by such municipality to a sum specified in said\npetition, shall be voted on at the next general election of such\nmunicipality, provided that due public notice of the proposed action\nshall have been given. An increase in library funding provided pursuant\nto this paragraph shall not apply to a municipal budget adopted prior to\nthe date of such election.\n (2) Solely for the purposes of this paragraph, the term "municipality"\nshall:\n (i) not include a city with a population of one million or more,\n (ii) mean only a county when the public libraries located in such\ncounty are members of a federated public library system whose central\nlibrary is located in a city of more than three hundred thousand\ninhabitants.\n 2. In the case of a joint public library authorized to be established\nby two or more municipalities or districts pursuant to section two\nhundred fifty-five of this chapter, the governing bodies of the\nparticipating municipalities and districts shall enter into an agreement\ndesignating the treasurer of one of the participating municipalities or\ndistricts to be the treasurer of the joint public library. The agreement\nshall be for a period of not less than one year nor more than five years\nand the state comptroller and the commissioner of education shall be\nnotified in writing by the board of library trustees of such agreement\nand designation.\n The municipality or district whose treasurer is designated to serve as\ntreasurer of a joint public library may be compensated for the services\nrendered by such official to the library. The amount to be paid for such\nservices shall be determined by agreement between the governing body of\nthe municipality or district and the board of library trustees, and\nshall be paid at least annually from the public library fund.\n 3. The treasurer of a joint public library shall maintain the separate\nlibrary fund required by subdivision one of this section and shall\ncredit to such fund all moneys received. The state aid apportioned to a\njoint public library, amounts appropriated by participants toward its\nsupport and all amounts received from other sources shall be paid to the\nlibrary treasurer. Appropriations for the library made by the\nparticipating municipalities or districts shall be paid in full to the\nlibrary treasurer within sixty days after the beginning of the library\nfiscal year.\n Disbursements for purposes of a joint public library shall be made by\nthe treasurer in the manner prescribed in subdivision one of this\nsection.\n Within thirty days after the close of the fiscal year the treasurer\nshall make an annual report of the receipt and disbursement of library\nmoneys to the board of library trustees and to the governing body of\neach of the participating municipalities or districts.\n 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions one and three of\nthis section, the library trustees may by resolution establish a petty\ncash fund, in such amount as they shall determine, for any employee who\nhas supervision of any library or branch thereof. Expenditures from such\nfund may be made by such employee in advance of audit by the library\ntrustees, but only after the submission of properly itemized and\nauthenticated vouchers for materials, supplies or services furnished to\nthe library or branch thereof and upon terms calling for payment to the\nvendor upon the delivery of any such materials or supplies or the\nrendering of any such services. At each meeting of the library trustees\na list of all expenditures made from such fund since the last meeting of\nthe trustees, together with the vouchers supporting such expenditures,\nshall be presented by such employee to the library trustees. The\ntrustees shall direct the treasurer to reimburse such petty cash fund in\nan amount equal to the total of such bills which the trustees shall so\nallow. Any of such bills or any portion of such bills which the library\ntrustees shall refuse to allow shall be the personal liability of such\nemployee and he shall promptly reimburse such petty cash fund in the\namount of such disallowances. If such reimbursement has not been made by\nthe time of the first payment of salary to such employee after the\naction of the library trustees in disallowing an amount so expended,\nsuch amount shall be withheld from such salary payment to such employee\nand, if necessary, subsequent salary payments and paid into such petty\ncash fund until an amount so disallowed by the library trustees has been\nrepaid in full to the petty cash fund.\n