Woodstock voters will choose whether to approve a $727,698.28 library budget and whether to elect five library trustees to fill five slots on October 5. Voting will be from noon to 9 p.m. at the library on Library Lane. Applications for absentee ballots are available at the circulation desk or on the library website, woodstock.org by clicking on “2024 Vote” in the top-right corner.
The proposed budget represents a 5.94 percent increase, but will only require a 3.84 percent tax-levy hike. The increase will allow the lowest-paid staff members to receive a raise from $15.75 per hour to $17.61 to bring them in line with the Ulster County cost-of-living index, according to library director Ivy Gocker.
The budget also includes increased lines for utilities and building insurance because the library will be maintaining 5 Library Lane and moving into 10 Dixon Avenue during the transition.
Trustees Marcia Patten and Peter Einhorn are running for new five-year terms. Ellen Tarlow and Mary Kate Davidson are running to fill the remainder of vacated seats expiring at the end of 2026. Emily Rothschild is running to fill the remainder of a vacated seat to expire at the end of 2027.
Mary Kate Davidson retired from government service overseas in 2019 and lives in Shady with her husband in a home purchased in 2004.
“For me though, enjoying a community also means serving it. And serving as a library board trustee is a natural extension of all my paid work which has taken me to live and work in many places both in the United States and overseas,” she said. “Our Woodstock Library is one of the most important institutions in our community, and I want to help strengthen its work in serving the needs of our diverse community.”
Peter Einhorn has been a resident of Woodstock for 30 years. He is married, a father of two and a business owner, inventor, composer and jazz musician.
“Our Woodstock Library is one of the most important institutions in our community, and I want to help strengthen its work in serving the needs of our diverse community,” he said.
Marcia Patten has served on the board since 2021. She is co-chair of the development committee.
“We are fortunate to have a hard-working, cohesive board with a strong commitment to our community. I would be honored to serve another term and move forward to building a great library for Woodstock,” Patten said.
Emily Rothschild, a Woodstock resident for the last decade, said she looks forward to contributing to contributing to the important work and planning involved in the transition to the new building Avenue in Bearsville.
“The library is a space for all of us — an essential place for learning, work, exploration, and gathering. As a parent of young children and a local business owner, I believe deeply that a thriving library is a necessary component to a thriving community, and I’m excited for the opportunities that the new building will bring,” she said.
Ellen Tarlow has served on the board since January 2023, having been appointed to fill a vacant seat. She is a professional writer, children’s book author and educator.
“In an age when public services and human connections are dwindling, libraries are uniquely positioned to serve the mind and heart of the community,” Tarlow said. “I am proud to live in a town where the library is so central. Being part of the move to 10 Dixon and seeing all the new possibilities it can offer Woodstock has deepened my feeling about the importance of libraries.”
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