2010 New York Code
EDN - Education
Title 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 5 - UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Part 2 - (245 - 285) LIBRARIES
259 - Library taxes.

§  259.  Library  taxes.  1.  a. Taxes, in addition to those otherwise
  authorized, may be voted for library purposes by any authority named  in
  section  two hundred fifty-five of this part and shall, unless otherwise
  directed by such vote, be considered as annual  appropriations  therefor
  until  changed by further vote and shall be levied and collected yearly,
  or as directed, as are other general taxes. In  the  case  of  a  school
  district  the  appropriation  for library purposes shall be submitted to
  the voters of the district as proposed by the library board of  trustees
  in  a  separate  resolution  and shall not be submitted as a part of the
  appropriation of the necessary funds to meet the estimated  expenditures
  of  the  school district. All moneys received from taxes or other public
  sources for library purposes shall be kept as a separate library fund by
  the treasurer of the municipality or district making  the  appropriation
  and  shall  be  expended only under direction of the library trustees on
  properly authenticated vouchers, except that money received  from  taxes
  and  other  public sources for the support of a public library or a free
  association library or a cooperative library system shall be  paid  over
  to  the treasurer of such library or cooperative library system upon the
  written demand of its trustees. All such moneys paid over  to  a  public
  library  treasurer shall be deposited and secured in the manner provided
  by section ten of the general municipal law and the library trustees  or
  the  library treasurer, if the trustees shall delegate such duty to him,
  may invest such moneys in the manner provided by section eleven of  such
  law.
    b.  (1)  Except  as  provided  in  subparagraph two of this paragraph,
  whenever qualified voters of a municipality, in a  number  equal  to  at
  least  ten  per  centum  of  the  total  number  of  votes  cast in such
  municipality for governor at the last gubernatorial election,  shall  so
  petition  and  the library board of trustees shall endorse, the question
  of establishing or increasing  the  amount  of  funding  of  the  annual
  contribution  for  the  operating  budget of a registered public or free
  association library by such municipality to  a  sum  specified  in  said
  petition,  shall  be  voted  on  at  the  next  general election of such
  municipality, provided that due public notice  of  the  proposed  action
  shall  have been given. An increase in library funding provided pursuant
  to this paragraph shall not apply to a municipal budget adopted prior to
  the date of such election.
    (2) Solely for the purposes of this paragraph, the term "municipality"
  shall:
    (i) not include a city with a population of one million or more,
    (ii) mean only a county when the  public  libraries  located  in  such
  county  are  members  of a federated public library system whose central
  library is located in  a  city  of  more  than  three  hundred  thousand
  inhabitants.
    2.  In the case of a joint public library authorized to be established
  by two or more municipalities  or  districts  pursuant  to  section  two
  hundred  fifty-five  of  this  chapter,  the  governing  bodies  of  the
  participating municipalities and districts shall enter into an agreement
  designating the treasurer of one of the participating municipalities  or
  districts to be the treasurer of the joint public library. The agreement
  shall be for a period of not less than one year nor more than five years
  and  the  state  comptroller  and the commissioner of education shall be
  notified in writing by the board of library trustees of  such  agreement
  and designation.
    The municipality or district whose treasurer is designated to serve as
  treasurer  of a joint public library may be compensated for the services
  rendered by such official to the library. The amount to be paid for such
  services shall be determined by agreement between the governing body  of

the  municipality  or  district  and  the board of library trustees, and
  shall be paid at least annually from the public library fund.
    3. The treasurer of a joint public library shall maintain the separate
  library  fund  required  by  subdivision  one  of this section and shall
  credit to such fund all moneys received. The state aid apportioned to  a
  joint  public  library,  amounts appropriated by participants toward its
  support and all amounts received from other sources shall be paid to the
  library  treasurer.  Appropriations  for  the  library   made   by   the
  participating  municipalities  or districts shall be paid in full to the
  library treasurer within sixty days after the beginning of  the  library
  fiscal year.
    Disbursements  for purposes of a joint public library shall be made by
  the treasurer in the  manner  prescribed  in  subdivision  one  of  this
  section.
    Within  thirty  days  after the close of the fiscal year the treasurer
  shall make an annual report of the receipt and disbursement  of  library
  moneys  to  the  board  of library trustees and to the governing body of
  each of the participating municipalities or districts.
    4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions  one  and  three  of
  this  section,  the library trustees may by resolution establish a petty
  cash fund, in such amount as they shall determine, for any employee  who
  has supervision of any library or branch thereof. Expenditures from such
  fund  may  be  made  by such employee in advance of audit by the library
  trustees, but  only  after  the  submission  of  properly  itemized  and
  authenticated  vouchers for materials, supplies or services furnished to
  the library or branch thereof and upon terms calling for payment to  the
  vendor  upon  the  delivery  of  any  such  materials or supplies or the
  rendering of any such services. At each meeting of the library  trustees
  a list of all expenditures made from such fund since the last meeting of
  the  trustees,  together with the vouchers supporting such expenditures,
  shall be presented  by  such  employee  to  the  library  trustees.  The
  trustees shall direct the treasurer to reimburse such petty cash fund in
  an  amount  equal to the total of such bills which the trustees shall so
  allow. Any of such bills or any portion of such bills which the  library
  trustees  shall  refuse to allow shall be the personal liability of such
  employee and he shall promptly reimburse such petty  cash  fund  in  the
  amount of such disallowances. If such reimbursement has not been made by
  the  time  of  the  first  payment  of salary to such employee after the
  action of the library trustees in disallowing  an  amount  so  expended,
  such  amount shall be withheld from such salary payment to such employee
  and, if necessary, subsequent salary payments and paid into  such  petty
  cash fund until an amount so disallowed by the library trustees has been
  repaid in full to the petty cash fund.