BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- Massena library officials say they are going to run an honest, transparent campaign in an effort to educate the public about the benefits of switching to a school district library.

The proposition will be on the May 21 ballot when Massena Central School District voters head to the polls to approve the next school budget. 

This is the second attempt to transition the library to a school district library following a failed attempt in 2020 that was thwarted after voters in Norfolk and Brasher shot down the plan with a vote of 1,640 to 892. 

Members of Friends of Massena Library say they wanted to clear up a few misnomers regarding the proposed transition, including the fact that the school district would have no control over the library. 

“It is not a library tied to the school district. It actually refers to the area of the school district, within the Massena Central School District, that encompasses more than the town of Massena,” said Donna Bourdon.

According to Bourdon, the outlying areas in the Massena Central School District, including parts of Brasher, Louisville and Norfolk will become part of the tax base that supports the library. Those added tax payers would allow the library to pull from a larger base to create more financial stability for operations, she said. 

“We tried this a few years ago, and it didn't work out. The referendum was not accepted. And we think it happened because of a couple of reasons. We think there was a lot of misinformation. Plus it was the start of COVID and COVID shut the country down, shut everything down and things kind of stopped. The message that that was received in the community was more of a kind of a negative one,”  Bourdon said. 

“We don’t want a negative relationship with anyone,” she said. 

“We want to work with our community because we want to support our community. We love our community. We want to be part, an active part, of our community. We want to work with partners. We want to do good for the community,” Bourdon continued.

But educating the public is needed before the vote is held.

“We are going to have a campaign. We're going to try to explain our side, why we think that a school district library will be a benefit both to the town, to the town council, to the residents of Massena. But we want a positive campaign. We want a transparent campaign. The only way we can do that is to be upfront because it is up to the taxpayers to be well educated. The more information that we can get out there, the better informed the citizens are because it is up to them,” Bourdon said.

Bourdon said the first thing that was brought up  once the petition was presented to the school board was the cost to taxpayers and taxes rising. 

“One of the things that (happened), once this referendum was approved on March 7, immediately it was taxes, taxes, taxes, taxes. Taxes are going to go up, the taxes are going to go up. So, that's something that we really just need to meet head on,” she said. 

Bourdon said she was confused by that. 

“I have a question. I need clarification because I honestly don't quite understand where this whole taxes thing is coming up. If we go to a referendum and the town approves that we go to a school district library and the town agrees that we will take over the ownership of the library and the running of the library, the responsibility of the library, then you are relieved of $500,000 (in the) budget. All we’ll be doing is changing the funding from one entity to another. So please explain this to me, as a resident of Massena, if you own a piece of property that has a tax levy of or your property’s worth about $100,000 you are going to pay $89 without the referendum. With the referendum, you will actually pay $84. it will actually be less,” Bourdon said. 

In a handout distributed during the meeting, which is also available on the Friends of Massena Public Library website, Bourdon and trustees detailed the breakdown of taxes to be paid annually. 

For residents in Louisville who have a home assessed at $100,000, the tax to be assessed for the library will rise from $6 to $106 per year. In Brasher, those residents would go from paying nothing to $81 per year. In Norfolk, residents in the district will go from paying nothing to $100 per year. 

Bourdon said the debate over the transition isn’t just about taxes that have to be paid by residents of the district  but the potential addition of services, expanded hours, increased staffing and greater community involvement and engagement. 

While taxes are part of the discussion, Deputy Town Supervisor Pat Facteau questioned the need to increase the library budget from $504,133 with the town to $679,990 under the school district designation. 

Retired Library Director Elaine Dunne addressed those concerns, saying the increased budget would cover the services provided, accounting services, human resources and custodial services that are currently covered by the town. If the transition were successful, those services would fall to the library to pay. 

“So, yes, it does make a difference,” Dunne said. “Actually, the town could do much better with the library off its rolls. It would be saving taxpayers money. It would be spreading the burden of the cost of the library to the communities that are using the library. It’s just really a matter of fairness, especially during these economic times, to have these communities that are enjoying the services of the library help to pay for it as they do for the school. We wouldn’t expect the town of Massena to pay for the entire school district. Why should we expect the town of Massena to pay for a library that all of the school district is enjoying,” Dunne said. 

Voters will head to the polls on May 21 to decide if the library will make the transition to a school district library or stay as a town of Massena entity.