The Myers Library in Frewsburg currently receives $30,000 from the town of Carroll and $6,500 from the Frewsburg Central School District.

That amount generates 32% of the library’s $113,824 budget.

Now, Frewsburg Central School taxpayers are being asked to roughly triple their support of the library through a proposition that will be included on the May school board election and budget vote ballot by approving a yearly $100,000 district-wide tax that will be given to the library.

We don’t doubt that the Myers Library provides services enjoyed by some Frewsburg School District residents, as is the case with the nine other libraries in Chautauqua County that receive funding through the provisions in state Education Law Section 259. But there are a good many taxpayers who never set foot in the library who are paying the cost.

Let’s clear up a couple of misconceptions about what’s happening here. It’s highly unlikely that either the town of Carroll or Frewsburg Central School district are actually going to cut their taxes because they won’t have to fund the Myers Library any longer. Taxpayers will likely see a higher town and school tax levy and tax rate whether or not voters approve the 259 proposition in May. And, in perpetuity, they’ll also be paying a library tax on top of rising school and town property taxes.

It makes little sense, in our opinion, for the library to triple its contribution from taxpayers without explaining to taxpayers exactly what the additional $60,000 will be spent on. Are there going to be more open hours? Is the library going to provide more programs? Who’s using the library and what is the plan to increase that patronage with the additional taxpayer money? And, are users attending for the books, or for other things that could just as easily be offered in another meeting place?

Chautauqua County’s population is shrinking. But we don’t spend money like we’re shrinking. Instead, we spend more under the guise of sustainable funding. The question is sustainable for who?

Many taxpayers who approve a 259 vote are, in fact, paying for two libraries – a community library that is now supported by school district voters and another supported by school district voters when they approve their school budgets. Community members in most school districts are allowed to use the facilities their tax dollars purchase, like weight rooms, pools or gyms. Why can’t the existing school library become one of these places? Yes, we’d have to figure out how to adequately merge books for adults into school space, but that’s a hurdle, not a wall. Can space in schools be used for some of the community offerings that are taking place in libraries? Probably, though likely not during school hours. Again, it’s a hurdle, not a brick wall.

In our opinion, sharing community services is a better option than duplicating them and spending triple the taxpayers’ money. In the end, though, taxpayers need to lead the charge, or they will once again find themselves on the hook.