American LibrariesSearch American Libraries  |
||
Site Navigation
Left Sidebar ItemsOnline Features
|
||
Court Dismisses Suit over New York Tax DistrictThe New York Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit February 8 that sought to overturn a referendum passed last November creating a new tax district that would add revenue to the Broome County, New York, budget. The measure was designed to help financially ailing libraries in Endicott and Johnson City.“It’s a victory for our entire community,” Janet Ottman, director of Your Home Public Library in Johnson City, said in the February 9 Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin. Edward Dunscombe, director of the George F. Johnson Memorial Library in Endicott, added, “Now we can get back to the business of running the library.” The lawsuit was filed November 23 by absentee voter Robert H. Corwin, who charged that the vote should be voided because the question was not on the ballots of absentee voters, although it was on machine ballots in polling places. The referendum was first questioned last September when a state Supreme Court justice ruled that New York law prevented the creation of a special district. But the Appellate Division reversed the decision, allowing county election officials to add the question to the ballot, but not before some 2,000 absentee ballots had been mailed out. The new town-wide tax district is expected to raise $1.37 million for the two libraries annually. Previously, the libraries received a combination of village, county, and state funds. Posted February 11, 2005. |
Right Sidebar
|
|
