Stressing an anticipated tough road ahead for a proposed $12 million library, selectmen nonetheless approved attaching an override request to fund the project on the November ballot.
If approved on Nov. 4, the Proposition 2 1/2 override would increase the average property tax bill by almost $80, said Finance Director Mark Good.
An estimated $3.9 million of the cost of the 33,000 square-foot, two-story project would come from a state grant, while $7 million would come from the override. Library trustees hope to raise more than $1 million in their own.
"We understand the timing's not perfect (to ask voters for money)," said Paul Cesary, chairman of the library's board of trustees. "(But) we are ready to go. We've done everything we can."
Selectmen Vice Chairman Cliff Snuffer praised library trustees and others involved in the 15-year-old project. He lauded the group's courage for pressing forward despite the state of the economy and the expected broad turnout on election day.
Board member Al DeNapoli supported many of Snuffer's remarks, but wondered about the timeline of the project.
The appropriation of the $7 million through Town Meeting, and its approval by voters, would immediately trigger the state funding mechanism, Cesary said. If all goes well, construction could begin by late 2009.
It is possible, though not probable, that Town Meeting would take away the authority of the ballot question, Cesary said. If Town Meeting failed to appropriate the funds, but the ballot question passed, the question would return to Town Meeting.
The fall Annual Town Meeting warrant opens in two weeks, said Town Administrator Michael Boynton. The language for the appropriate article will come straight from state bylaws.
The last two local override requests failed. In June 2006, the Police Department sought $10.7 million for a new station. In March 2007, the schools tried to bolster their budget by $3.9 million.
