text: Libraries have become the heart of many communities, serve to promote the health of the community through a growing number of varied programs and by offering communal space where people come together to work and play. On Nov. 5, three libraries in our region are asking for an increase in funding from voters to enable them to continue with a reliable source of funding — and remain cornerstones of social and intellectual life.
  In Millbrook, it has been nine years since the Millbrook Library, which serves the Village of Millbrook and the Town of Washington, sought an increase. The Amenia Free Library is seeking an annual increase from the town to meet a continued demand for more services from those who use the library, not to mention pressure from operating expenses common to all institutions — utilities, salaries and supplies — to name a few. The NorthEast-Millerton Library is seeking a budget increase from taxpayers to secure additional funding that the Town of North East has been providing since 2007.
  Chapter 414 refers to a chapter of the laws of 1995 in New York State that was amended to enable citizens of a municipality to decide how much to tax themselves for library services.
  In November 2023, voters in Pine Plains approved a funding increase for the Pine Plains Free Library, which at the time was only one of two libraries out of 26 in Dutchess County that didn’t receive voter-directed funding. The ballot measure was approved.
  In Millbrook, in what is only the third time in the library’s history that it has sought an increase, voters will be asked to increase funding by $165,000 to $349,000. In Amenia, voters are asked to increase funding by $20,000 to $245,000 annually. The NorthEast-Millerton Library’s request will not cost taxpayers any more money, but will ensure a consistent source of revenue of $175,000 annually.
  Libraries perform a critical role in our communities, and they have evolved along with our needs far beyond the role they played in the past century. Often they are the new town meeting place where important issues are discussed in a forum venue. They support digital literacy, civic health, the education of young and old and much, much more.
  They are not just places to read books. Every town should have a library. Just as municipal services are funded, libraries deserve community support for what they give to us in return. In Amenia, the average increase on a property assessed at $300,000 would amount to about 40 cents per month. A bargain.
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  STANFORD — When an ambulance arrives in the next three years to save a life in Stanford, it will be doing so largely thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor who recently gave what Town Supervisor Wendy Burton describes as a “jaw dropping” $2 million to pick up the lion’s share of that service’s annual fee of $750,000.
  When families build memories in the soon to be created Dot and Ira Burdick pocket park, named respectively after the former historian and town supervisor, their appreciation should go to Gayle Bontecou for the $150,000 donation she made in memory of her late husband Jesse — one of many they made over the years.
  Both contributions were announced in a recent newsletter by Burton who says, “we have something going on here” with the gifts representative of the way in which the once fractured town has “come together” and is now a “town that just wants to take care of itself” with citizens stepping up to manage the many needs.
  In discussing the donations, she explained that in the past, the “must have” ambulance service had been provided by volunteers such as those currently at the fire department whom she says are “the best ever.” However, when the volunteers needed to be replaced by a professional service, it came with an eye-popping $62,000 cost per month — 92% of which will now be covered for the next three years by the donation.
  The other contribution, the new park, will adapt wetlands for nature trails, a pond, historic and nature kiosks, bird houses and a pollinator field. When the donated land was accepted five years ago, it was with the provision that tax money would not be used on it.
  When Bontecou, whom Burton describes as “an incredibly generous woman” asked what the town could use, Burton showed her the park plans. She reported Bontecou “said, ‘I’ll write a check for $150,000’ and one of us started crying.”
  Burton feels that citizens stepping up is typical of Stanford and believes it may have begun with the privately funded library which is now the “center of the town,” with the “best programming in the world.”
  Similarly, the recreation park was built by some 200 citizens sharing their talents in everything from carpentry to hole digging to child care with the efforts under the direction of the organizing company.
  Burton also pointed with pride to the way in which the community came together to support the Kemmerer family after a horrendous fire destroyed the heart of their 100 year old farm, raising $100,000 through Go Fund Me with local goods and services donated to a $25,000 auction.
  Burton, a 17 year resident of Stanford, who has been supervisor for the past five years says that some days are filled with people complaining that “a garbage truck dropped garbage in front of their house or they don’t like the way a tree was trimmed or there’s a pothole and you’re just going, ‘I’m not the Master of the Universe here.’ And then you have a day like this and you go, ‘Wow! I love my job.’”
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  MILLERTON — The Millerton Police Department has received $220,000 from New York’s Division of Criminal Justice Services to update infrastructure and aid in supplying officers with uniforms and firearms.
  In July, Millerton’s Police Department requested an increase in funding to support the officers on duty.
  The Chief of police, Joseph Olenik, requested more funding so that his officers could receive uniforms and firearms through their budget. Olenik said officers would have to pay for their uniforms and firearms, which could cost an individual around $1,200.
  “We received an additional $220,000 in funding from criminal justice services, which will be used to update computers, police cars and purchase laptops for officers working from home,” Olenik said. “They are also installing a new surveillance system and access control system for the police station.”
  The funding surpassed what the chief was hoping to receive, which was $8,000 to help officers with uniforms and firearms. Now, with a larger budget, Olenik can make departmental updates that were not possible beforehand.
  “We are slowly getting the equipment in,” Olenik said, “I would say within the next month, by the end of November, we should have pretty much everything.”
  The chief also said officers are receiving training for the new equipment to ensure everyone’s safety.
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