Voters in Woodstock and Saugerties approved their public libraries’ 2027 budgets Tuesday, Sept. 15, supporting spending increases and electing six trustees.
The Woodstock Public Library District budget passed 229–116, while Saugerties Public Library voters approved their budget 129–7.
Saugerties’ budget totals $877,915, an increase of $40,911, or 4.89%, over 2026. Property taxes will provide $811,397, up 5.24%. Other funding includes donations, fees, interest, state aid, and money drawn from reserves, according to the library’s budget documents.
Woodstock’s budget totals $786,720, an increase of $77,527, or 10.93%, over 2026. Its library tax levy will rise 5.69%, or $38,677, to $717,860. The spending plan also includes $23,000 in gifts and donations and a $22,000 withdrawal from fund balance.
Woodstock voters elected Chloe Leader and Jomarie SanFilippo to five-year terms ending in December 2031, Cass Speck to a term ending in December 2030, and Lauren Redding to a term ending in December 2028. Saugerties voters elected Ed Himberger and Paul Van Benschoten.
In Saugerties, the increase will help cover salaries and benefits for four full-time and 12 part-time employees. Spending on library materials will rise by $19,195, which the library attributed to growing demand for e-books and digital audiobooks and their higher costs.
Saugerties resident Bronwyn Maloney voted in favor of the budget.
“I think we have an amazing library with a lot of great programming,” Maloney said.
She said she mainly uses the library to check out movies and books for her monthly book club. Programs such as the library’s regular Dungeons & Dragons group often have a waiting list, she said.
“It seems like a very well-loved library,” Maloney said.
The library recorded 84,956 physical-item loans and 33,568 electronic-item loans in 2025, according to its budget overview.
Woodstock’s increase will help cover higher operating costs at its two-story building at 10 Dixon Ave., where the library opened in October 2025 after moving from 5 Library Lane.
Library Director Ivy Gocker said the new building has brought higher heating and cooling costs, insurance expenses, and maintenance contract costs.
The budget will also fund an additional part-time clerk, bringing staffing to five full-time and six part-time employees, Gocker said. Clerks’ hourly pay will rise to $20.
Howard Harris, an alternate member of Woodstock’s Zoning Board of Appeals who ran for town justice earlier this year, voted against the budget.
He said the new building was an unnecessary expense for taxpayers and that the former location was more convenient for residents who couldn’t drive to the new one. He also described longtime residents’ attachment to the old building.
“It’s a protest more than anything else,” Harris said.
Lon Haber, a library volunteer who grew up visiting the old building, voted in favor of the budget and said he supported the move.
“It’s a Woodstock staple, and it always has been in different forms. It keeps changing, but the library itself, as the library, stays the same,” Haber said. “It’s not just a building.”
Gloria Blackman also voted in favor of Woodstock’s budget.
“I love the new library. I come often, and I’m always so happy to be here. It’s so beautiful, so clean, and so well cared for. And the selection is unbelievable,” Blackman said. “This is the place where money should go.”
Isabella Schoonover is a staff reporter for The Overlook covering Woodstock, Saugerties, Hurley, and surrounding Ulster County communities. Send correspondence to isabella@theoverlooknews.com.
