A Rockville Centre resident has started an online petition urging local elected officials to keep the Rockville Centre Library open on Sundays.
Paul Carnevale started the Change.org petition directed at State Sen. Dean Skelos and State Rep. Brian Curran. The Sunday closing was announced as part of this year’s library budget, which passed on May 21 by 2,078 to 1,025.
In his petition, Carnevale writes that “Sundays are a boon for the Rockville Centre Public Library.”
The library board wrote in a letter on May 15 that unfunded mandates led to their decision to close the library on Sunday.
“Complying with state-mandated increases such as pension expenditures and in order to be in compliance with the New York State mandated 2-percent tax levy, we have had to make the difficult decision to close the library on Sundays,” it read. “The saving from such a budget cut will allow us to keep our programs and most services at the same high level of quality that our community expects.”
The petition currently has over 200 votes of its needed 500. You can find it here.
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