Bill Text: NY S07785 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Relates to the election of trustees and the adoption of an annual budget of the Poughkeepsie public library.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2016-08-19 - SIGNED CHAP.277 [S07785 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-S07785-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          7785
                    IN SENATE
                                      May 12, 2016
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  SERINO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government
        AN ACT to amend chapter 524 of the laws of 1987, relating to  establish-
          ing the Greater Poughkeepsie library district, in the city and town of
          Poughkeepsie, Dutchess county, in relation to the election of trustees
          and the annual budget of such library
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Section 6 of chapter 524 of the laws of 1987,  relating  to
     2  establishing  the Greater Poughkeepsie library district, in the city and
     3  town of Poughkeepsie, Dutchess county, as amended by chapter 361 of  the
     4  laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
     5    §  6.  (a)  The  district  shall  be  governed  by a board of trustees
     6  consisting of eleven trustees.  [The trustees of the Greater  Poughkeep-
     7  sie library district as of the effective date of the chapter of the laws
     8  of  1997  which added this provision shall become trustees, immediately,
     9  of the Poughkeepsie public library  district.]  Seven  of  the  trustees
    10  shall  be  elected at an election to be held within the town and four of
    11  the trustees shall be elected at an  election  to  be  held  within  the
    12  portion of the district located in the city. The trustees elected at the
    13  election  in  the  town  must  be residents of the town and the trustees
    14  elected in the city must be residents of the city.
    15    [The trustees] (b) A trustee shall serve for a term of five years  and
    16  until  his or her successor is elected and qualified. [Two-thirds of the
    17  trustees shall constitute a quorum. Action of the trustees shall require
    18  a two-thirds vote of the entire board.   Vacancies shall  be  filled  by
    19  appointment  by  the trustees, provided, however, that an election shall
    20  be held at the first available general election day after the  happening
    21  of  a  vacancy.]  Vacancies  caused  by  resignation, removal, death, or
    22  inability to serve shall be filled by appointment by the board of  trus-
    23  tees  of the district until the next general election, at which time the
    24  vacancy shall be filled by election for the  remaining  portion  of  the
    25  term.   Election of trustees shall take place on the same day and ballot
    26  as the general election as administered by the board of  elections  with
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15117-02-6
        S. 7785                             2
     1  the  results of said election being certified by the board of elections.
     2  The person or persons appointed by the  trustees  shall  serve  until  a
     3  successor  is  elected  and  qualified as provided herein. Vacancies for
     4  trustees  elected  within the city shall be filled by city residents and
     5  vacancies for trustees elected within the town shall be filled  by  town
     6  residents.
     7    (c)  Two-thirds  of  the trustees shall constitute a quorum. Action of
     8  the trustees shall require a two-thirds vote of the entire board.
     9    (d) The board of trustees of the Poughkeepsie public library  district
    10  shall  give  notice of elections by publication of notice at least twice
    11  in one or more newspapers having a general circulation in  the  district
    12  to  be  served.  The  first publication of such notice shall be not less
    13  than thirteen days and not more than twenty days prior to  the  date  of
    14  such election.  In addition, the board of trustees of the district shall
    15  cause  copies  of such notice to be posted conspicuously in three public
    16  places in the district at least thirteen days prior to the date of  such
    17  election. Such notice shall specify the date and time when and the place
    18  where such general election will be held.  Every voter who is a resident
    19  of the district and otherwise qualified to vote at a general election in
    20  the  town or city shall be qualified to vote at said election. The board
    21  of trustees may, to the extent authorized by law and in conjunction with
    22  the board of elections, authorize the use of absentee  ballots  for  the
    23  election.  After  the  polls  have closed at such election, the board of
    24  elections shall certify the results of said election in accordance  with
    25  applicable law.
    26    (e)  Candidates  for  the office of member of the board of trustees of
    27  the Poughkeepsie public library district shall be nominated by petition.
    28  No vacancy to be filled on the board of trustees shall be  considered  a
    29  separate,  specific  office.  A  separate  petition shall be required to
    30  nominate each candidate for a vacancy on the board. Each petition  shall
    31  be  directed  to  the secretary of the board of trustees of the library,
    32  shall be  signed  by  at  least  twenty-five  qualified  voters  of  the
    33  district,  shall state the residence of each signer, and shall state the
    34  name and residence of the candidate. In the event that any such nominees
    35  shall withdraw their candidacy prior to the election, such person  shall
    36  not  be  considered  a  candidate  unless a new petition nominating such
    37  person in the same manner and within the same time limitation applicable
    38  to other candidates is filed with the secretary of the board of trustees
    39  of the library. Each petition shall be filed with the secretary  of  the
    40  board  of  trustees  of  the library, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and
    41  5:00 p.m., not later than the thirtieth day before the election at which
    42  the candidates nominated are to be elected.
    43    § 2.  Subdivision (b) of section 3 of chapter 524 of the laws of 1987,
    44  relating to establishing the Greater Poughkeepsie library  district,  in
    45  the  city and town of Poughkeepsie, Dutchess county, as amended by chap-
    46  ter 361 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
    47    (b) Commencing in 1997 for the budget to be prepared for  fiscal  year
    48  1998 the proposed annual budget, and propositions of supplemental appro-
    49  priations,  if  any,  and a proposition for capital expenditure, if any,
    50  for the district as established by the trustees shall be  placed  before
    51  the  voters  in  the  general election on the same day and ballot as the
    52  general election as administered by the  board  of  elections  with  the
    53  results  of  said  election being certified by the board of elections in
    54  the year preceding the year for  which  the  proposed  budget  has  been
    55  established. Each proposition for supplemental appropriation shall iden-
    56  tify  a  singular purpose and specific dollar appropriation and shall be
        S. 7785                             3
     1  worded in such a manner as to require an affirmative vote  for  passage.
     2  All  budget  propositions,  including the annual budget propositions for
     3  supplemental appropriations, and propositions for  capital  expenditures
     4  will  require  approval by a majority of voters in the city and, also, a
     5  majority of voters in the town, hereinafter referred to as the majority.
     6  Upon approval of such proposed operating budget, and of the  proposition
     7  for  supplemental  appropriations,  and  of  the proposition authorizing
     8  indebtedness for capital construction  by  the  majority,  the  proposed
     9  budget  including  the  supplemental appropriations and capital revenues
    10  and expenditures shall become the budget of the district for the follow-
    11  ing fiscal year. In the event that the proposition for  indebtedness  is
    12  approved by the majority, the city and the town shall incur such indebt-
    13  edness  on behalf of the district, and such indebtedness shall be appor-
    14  tioned between the city and the town pursuant to the formula  set  forth
    15  in  this  section. In the event that the proposed budget is not approved
    16  by the majority, the proposed budget shall be deemed amended so that the
    17  portion of the proposed budget providing for real property  tax  revenue
    18  to be received from the city and town be changed to equal the real prop-
    19  erty tax revenue provided for in the district budget in effect as of the
    20  time  of  the  vote  as  amended  by  the supplemental appropriations if
    21  approved. In the event that a  proposition  for  supplemental  appropri-
    22  ations  or  for  capital  purposes  is  not approved by the majority, no
    23  appropriation shall be included for such unapproved proposition. In  the
    24  event  that  the voters do not approve the proposed budget as aforesaid,
    25  and upon the proposed budget being deemed amended as aforesaid, the real
    26  property taxes to be levied by the city and the town  for  the  district
    27  shall  be  levied  in  an  amount  required to provide the city and town
    28  contribution as herein set forth rather than the city and town  contrib-
    29  ution as set forth in the proposed budget.  After the annual budgets for
    30  the  city  and the town have been adopted by the city and the town , the
    31  city and town shall assess and levy upon the taxable real property with-
    32  in the district the amounts to be raised by tax for the purposes of  the
    33  district  as  specified  in the district's annual budget and shall cause
    34  the amount so assessed and levied to be collected, in  the  same  manner
    35  and  at  the  same  time and by the same officers as city taxes and town
    36  taxes are assessed, levied and collected.
    37    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.