RANDOLPH — Voters approved the Kimball Public Library budget on the third try Tuesday — six months after Town Meeting — and chose the larger amount the library’s trustees had sought from the start.
The results show that a majority of voters wanted to see a more significant increase, specifically the one that the Library Trustees requested go on the budget as far back as last year.
About 32% of voters on the checklist participated in the special Sept. 22 election that included two articles about the same budget.
The first asked residents to approve a $491,000 budget for Kimball Library, and they did, 710-497.
The second article– asking residents to add $38,000 to the budget and bring it up to $529,000 total– also passed, 622-578.
In January, the library trustees asked the Selectboard for a $529,000 budget for the fiscal year that began July 1. That was a 22% increase over last year’s $431,000, with $440,000 to be raised by taxes.
The trustees came to their proposal after studying compensation and finding that staff was underpaid compared to regional salaries, Trustee Chair Karen Lowry Reed told the Valley News.
“With lots of documentation and transparency, we presented our budget to the Selectboard,” she said Friday.
Citing the needs across many other departments, the Selectboard instead put a $458,000 budget on the Town Meeting ballot, about 6% more than last year, with about $370,000 to be raised by taxes.
Library Director Amy Grasmick said the Selectboard’s version contained errors, including failing to account for a staff member’s increased hours, and the trustees urged residents to vote it down. Voters rejected it 507-451 on March 3.
The trustees then resubmitted their original request, but the Selectboard put a $491,000 budget on a special election ballot instead. The trustees took no position on it, and it failed 471-453 on June 30.
At an Aug. 13 meeting, Selectboard Chair Larry Satcowitz said it was unclear whether voters had rejected the $491,000 budget because it was too low or too high.
To avoid a possible fourth vote, the Selectboard split the budget into two questions.
“It’s a way to truly find out what’s failing,” Selectboard member Bethany Silloway said at the meeting.
Article 1: “Shall the town voters authorize the total expenditure of $491,024 for Kimball Public Library expenses, of which $401,956 shall be raised by taxes, and an estimated $89,068 shall be raised from non-tax revenues?”
Article 2: “If Article 1 is approved, shall the town voters authorize an additional expenditure of $38,116 for Kimball Public Library expenses for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026 and ending June 30, 2027, thereby increasing the total authorized expenditure from 491,024 to 529,140, of which $38,116 shall be raised by taxes and $0 shall be derived from non-tax revenues?”
In effect, voters again decided on the Selectboard’s budget, then separately decided whether to add enough to match the trustees’ request.
With both articles approved, the $529,140 budget takes effect, with $440,072 to be raised by taxes.
A “Yes” on both articles meant most town participants wanted to adopt the larger budget.
“I’m really proud of Randolph. Residents backed the Trustees’ budget and chose to support fair, livable wages for our librarians,” Trustee Heather Bowman commented by email. “That choice says a lot about our community.”
