414

I imagine most people who made it through the library lingo in the question do not need a decoder ring for the answer.

That said, Ask the Lawyer is for everyone, so with a few twists of the decoder ring, this question is about:

• Education Law Section 259, which concerns library funding approved by the voters of a school district.
• Chapter 414 of the Laws of 1995, which amended Education Law 259 to include library funding approved by the voters of a municipality.[1]
• “JPOTB,” or funding that is “just part of the budget” of a municipality (no separate tax line supports the library; the money is allocated from the general levy).[2]

With those concepts defined, let’s tackle the first question:

… my understanding was, in the case of a 259, that the municipal funders were no longer allowed to collect the amount of money that had been used to fund the library. Is this true?

That is not true. Further, there is no provision in the Education Law, General Municipal Law, Town Law, Village Law, City Law, County Law, or Real Property Tax Law that could make this true.

What may have given rise to this impression is instances of JPOTB funding being re-allocated after a successful 259 vote. After all, if a library successfully transitions to support from a school district levy, it is pretty easy for the governing board of the municipality to justify adjusting the budget.

But to be clear, if that budget was already passed, and the levy issued, the portion of JPOTB funding allocated to the library is library money, the minute it is collected.[3]

But if the money is coming from a 414 source (as in, a separate levy approved by the voters), the only thing that can remove that funding is a vote per the applicable law of the taxing entity.

This leads us to the member’s next question: After a successful funding vote, can a municipality decide to allocate funds from their budget to go to the library?

The answer to this is a resounding “YES.” Not only is there no law barring it, but there is no relevant guidance from the usual suspects (Attorney General, NYSED, State Comptroller) suggesting it can’t be done. If a municipality wants to support a public library that gets additional sources of revenue, it can do so.

The logical next question is: After a successful 259 (school district funding vote), how does a municipality reduce its 414 funding, if desired?

The elimination or reduction of 414 funding will vary by municipality. Although establishing or increasing 414 funding per Education Law 259 requires a petition signed by 25 voters and an endorsement by the library’s board of trustees,[4] reduction or elimination must follow the municipality’s particular path to removal.[5]

This is an important thing to be sensitive to. A public library should have diverse and secure streams of revenue,[6] but must take care not to appear greedy, wasteful, or unfair to taxpayers supporting more than one library.

While this is just common sense, it is so serious that it has recently been the subject of attempted state legislation (see 2024 – 2025 NYS Assembly Bill 4530A). Although this bill did not pass, it sets out issues to be aware of and is worth reading as a cautionary tale.

The bottom line: when a public library is planning to change a revenue source, careful strategic planning should be part of the process. Early participation by legal counsel, as well as an experienced legislative and/or public relations professional, is wise.[7]

Thank you for an important question.

For the five people reading this who don’t work day-to-day on library budget matters but for some reason care about this question,[1] I will explain: a “414” is the nickname for when the voters of a village, town, city, or county approve a separate tax levy to support a public or association library (or libraries).

The “414” got its nickname for the reason set out in the question (“Chapter 414 of the laws of 1995”), but the tax is enabled through Education Law Section 259. It is called “414” to differentiate it from another fun nickname in library tax-land, the “259,” which is reserved for levies approved by school district voters.

“414” is actually a bad nickname,[2] because in the time since “Chapter 414 of the Laws of 1995” was passed, the part of the law governing “414 votes” has changed (in 1996, 1997, 2021, and (most recently) in 2023. I guess changing “414” to “587” (for “Chapter 587 of the laws of 2023”) is too cumbersome.

While I appreciate that nicknames are important, that isn’t the real reason I am reviewing this history. Rather, I am reviewing the history because it is relevant to the question: is a “414” a “new” tax?

The answer is: in 1995 (when the vote was only to “increase” the amount to appropriate), there may have been some grounds to say it was not a “new” tax. But since the 2007 change, the law has allowed for the tax to be not only “increased” but to be “established.”

So, since 2007, without a doubt, a 414 (or, more fittingly, a “184” for “Chapter 184 of the Laws of 2007”) can be a “new” (as in separate and never having happened before) tax.

While the phrase “new tax” might be a repugnant notion to some,[3] to call a tax proposed by the voters, endorsed by the library board, and separately enforced by the power of a tax levy and a lien on real property is… disingenuous, at best. In fact, it could be viewed as downright dishonest, by some.[4]

A tax such as a 184[5] is defined in New York’s Real Property Tax Law[6] as “a charge imposed upon real property by or on behalf of a county, city, town, village or school district for municipal or school district purposes…”[7]

The ability of any library (not just a library created by the taxing entity) to benefit from a 184 or a 259 is a vast power.[8] As a separate tax, it is also subject to the Real Property Tax Law’s provisions about refunds (meaning a library sometimes has to return part of it). As a tax, it can be enforced by the power of the state, and it provides an important source of independent, separate funding. For these reasons, its status as a new tax (when it is first adopted) should not be denied.

Libraries that want to point out that a new 414 to replace funding that from a municipality’s budget can stress that it’s not an additional charge (if the amount isn’t increasing).

A newly established 414 (or whatever you call it) is a new tax. An official source that glosses over these considerations may want to refine its guidance.

Thank you for a thoughtful question.