25°
To The Editor:
Taxation without Representation is what the Putnam Valley Free Library is petitioning with their second attempt to put a 414 referendum on November’s ballot.
The library is attempting to get petitions signed for a 414 referendum, which takes the budget decision on taxes we pay to fund the library, away from our elected Town Board.
It would also raise our taxes by $27,000 and who knows how much more in the future.
When asked if the Library’s Board will be elected by the voters, the President, Pricilla Keresey, said it may be considered in the future. But for now, if the 414 is passed, the unelected Library Board will make all the decisions on how our taxes are spent. That is Taxation without Representation.
Unlike our elected Town Board, if the Library Board makes bad decisions not in the taxpayer’s best interest, we will have no recourse.
If we feel our Town Board is not looking out for the best interest of us taxpayers, we have a choice to vote them out. Our Town Board members are vetted by the taxpayer and voters, the Library Board is not and they oversee the fiscal health of the Library and decide how are taxes are spent.
The 414 law allows only for a proposal to increase the Library’s budget, we will never get a decrease if the law is passed.
The current Town Board approves and allocates the amount of our taxes paid to the Library. If our economy gets worse then it is today, our Town Board can decrease the amount of our tax dollars allocated to the Library.
Without an elected Library Board who decides how our tax dollars are spent we have a situation of Taxation without Representation.
Please do not sign the Library’s 414 referendum unless you want to lose control of how your hard earned tax dollars are spent from no oversight by an elected board.
--Dan Vera
Putnam Valley’s Taxpayer Advocate
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