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Butterfield Library & Town Board in Legal Dispute over Validity of November's Referendum
Extra funds not included in 2007 Town budget
by Maria Theodore Leiter
During the weekly workshop on February 28, 2007 the Philipstown Town Board met with members of the Julia L. Butterfield Library Board to discuss legal issues involved with November's referendum election, in which the library requested $250,000 in annual taxpayer funding to support its budget. Though the meeting went into executive session, the PCN&R has learned the discussion centered on the Town Board's questioning of the legality of the referendum results of the election after finding technical problems with the notification process leading up to November's vote.
The Town first notified Library officials of a problem with the referendum on January 3, 2007, when they forwarded to them a letter from the Town's outside Counsel Richard Goldsand. In that letter, Goldsand advised town officials that, in his opinion, the proposition vote was nullified because the Board of Elections failed to follow proper notification procedures.
"There was an irregularity with regard to the election," Goldsand told the PCN&R during an interview on Friday. "Education Law requires due notification and Election Law requires notice be placed for two weeks prior to the election."
The improper notification happened when the Board of Elections submitted legal notices for the general election to the County's official newspapers. The BOE left off two propositions that were to go before the public, one for Butterfield Library funding, and another for the Town of Southeast's acquisition of Open Space land. The BOE corrected the legal notice the following week, however New York State Election Law requires the notice to be run twice. In addition, Goldsand said that when the legal notice was posted, it was improperly included with the list of candidates instead of under a separate section of law applying to special elections. These insufficiencies render the referendum results a nullity, he maintains.
Putnam County Board of Elections Commissioner Robert Bennett admitted that the notification process was flawed, but said, "We believe that [the process] substantially complied, maybe not with the letter of the law, but with the intent of the filing laws. I am surprised that they are holding it back on an administrative technicality. The results stand," he added. "I don't see how they can overturn an election. I don't think they have the right to overturn the outcome of an election. We would be the one they would have to come to for a re-canvass. They would have to take the BOE to court." In addition, Bennett pointed out that the wording of the referendum was sent to the BOE by the Town Clerk.
Lee Daghian, Director of Public Information for the New York State Board of Elections, agrees with Bennett's assessment. In an interview on Monday, he told the PCN&R that he believed the Town would need to get a judge to overturn the election results.
Library officials are preparing to file an Article 78 Petition against the Town to force them to honor the election results. Their attorney, Robert Shofield, told the PCN&R that he does not believe the Town Board has the right to simply deny the election results without going through the courts. In addition, he said that the time frame to challenge the election has passed.
Library President Judy Meyers made the following statement on Monday:
"As of today, we are under the belief that the Philipstown Town Board is refusing to follow the wishes of the town voters who supported increasing the funding for the library in the November election. The Board of the library regrets that it will have to undertake the unnecessary expense of suing the Town Board to obtain the money that the voters directed the Town Board to pay. The Library Board is committed to pursuing its right to the money, not only because it wants to improve library services for all the residents of Philipstown, but also because it shares a duty to see that the wishes of the voters are followed."
On the other hand, Mazzuca and other board members are claiming that they and the public were misled about the details of the referendum. Attorney Goldsand said that the Town Board did not challenge the election at the time because they were not aware of the insufficiencies in the notification.
"To me, it is unbelievable that it has come to this," said Councilman Richard Shea, "especially with our track record of funding the library, even in the lean years." He said that there were a lot of organizations in Philipstown that could use more funding. "It seems strange to me that we cannot sit down and negotiate this without legal action. It's not good for the community."
The issue has already sparked outrage among library patrons, who are mobilizing in support of the library.
"This problem goes deeper than a single referendum," said Cold Spring resident Kara Mathews. "This is about government transparency and public accountability. The Town Board can't decide not to honor a referendum that passed just because they don't agree with it. If they feel there is a problem with the election, there are legal avenues to pursue this. Deciding behind closed doors that we really didn't mean it when we voted is not a valid alternative."
But Town Board members claim it is the Library that acted improperly by reaching out only to those who use the library or live inside the villages, even though the taxes would be collected town-wide. Sharing additional misgivings, Mazzuca and other town board members allege they were assured on more than one occasion by Meyers that the library would not be seeking the increased funds for the 2007 year, but for 2008.
Meyers would not comment as to the veracity of this claim, saying only, "They know where I stand on this."
The election was held on November 7, 2006. The library referendum passed by 988 to 879. In November, the Town Board passed a budget that included a 9.2% and 10.9% tax increase, which did not include the additional funds called for by the referendum.
Goldsand said that the Town was not at this time going to be taking any legal action, but would instead give the library the $125,000 it has budgeted for this year, leaving the Library the option of trying to go out and re-file their referendum next year.
Mazzuca went further in impugning the referendum process, saying, "We also believe that there was a campaign to keep information from the town folk. There were signs only in the villages, emails only in the villages, not in the other part of town. I think there was an effort that the right people came out and vote. We had a very high turn-out [in the election]. 4029 people voted in town, only 2059 voted 'yes' or 'no' on the proposition. That's a hell of a drop off. Something is wrong." He said that he felt that the library had a responsibility to hold informational meetings before the election.
He and other town officials have been bombarded with phone calls since the election results were announced, he said, mostly from residents who live outside the Villages who complained that they did not know about the referendum and were upset that their taxes would be affected by the vote. He heard from many seniors who said they saw the proposition on the ballot, but did not understand what it was about, he claimed. "I think [the library] had an obligation to hold informational meetings."
"As Town Supervisor, I have a fiduciary obligation to make sure everyone has a chance to be involved in this," said Mazzuca. "Nobody knows better that you have to honor the will of the people, but not when they were tricked. We are talking such drastic money. It's 20% of our "A" budget. I'd be starting the year off with an 11% increase just to cover the cost of the library."
He also has yet to see a budget from the library that indicates how all the extra money will be spent, he said. Thorpe said that the library was not legally obligated to submit its budget to the Town Board, but that it was available at the library for public viewing.
Thorpe also points to the fact that in addition to the legal notice, the library paid for a half-page ad in the PCN&R, put up lawn signs and put information up on their website. There were also letters and articles in the PCN&R and the Journal News prior to the election.
Also, as a public service, the PCN&R included a copy of the actual ballot in the November issue before the election. That ballot insert did contain the referendum as it was later seen in voting booths.
Thorpe also maintains that the library expected to see the increased funding in the 2007 budget. They first contacted the Town after reading that the Town passed its budget allocating only $125,000 for the library.
"It became apparent that they believed the funds would be for 2008," said Thorpe. "It was a misunderstanding." She said that they tried to set up a meeting with the Town afterward, but were not able to get together. "Having adopted a budget at the end of the year [in anticipation of the increased funds] we are in limbo."
With the added money, Thorpe said that the library was planning to offer longer hours during the week, opening at 10am. Also, they were going to open for a full day during the weekend, "things our patrons said they wanted."
Adding a layer of complexity to this issue, Mazzuca raised the specter of Butterfield Hospital. Like the former hospital, the Julia L. Butterfield Memorial Library does not belong to the Town, but to a trust set up by the will of Julia Butterfield.
"The taxpayers of the town fund the library, but the town does not get an asset," warned Mazzuca, who fought unsuccessfully to keep the hospital trust from being dissolved. That property now belongs to HVHC, which is trying to sell it. "If we give them [the Library] all this money and they decide to close, who gets the asset?"
Prior to the petition being filed for the referendum, Mazzuca said that the Town Board offered to work out a three to five year contract with the library, as is done with other service corporations, such as the fire departments and ambulance workers; guaranteeing annual raises. The offer was made to Meyer, said Mazzuca, but Meyer told him that her board decided to go a different route. Once the library brought a signed petition to the Town Board, Mazzuca said that they had no choice but to sign off on it, according to state law.
If the referendum were determined to be legally binding on the Town, the Town does not have the money in its current budget, he advised. "I would have to drastically cut other services, or borrow the money."
It should be noted that while the discussions are ongoing, the Town Board has not taken any official actions with regard to the matter, other than what they included in the adopted budget.
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