The Finkelstein Memorial Library Board voted at a special meeting Tuesday night to approve a 4.5% tax increase, drawing opposition from two trustees and raising concerns about how the budget was reviewed.

Trustees Esther Waldman and Yossi Rubinstein were the only members to vote against the increase.

During the meeting, trustees explained that the controversy began in the days leading up to the vote, when a special meeting was announced to address the library’s budget. As part of that process, the Finance Committee, tasked with reviewing and scrutinizing the budget in detail, attempted to convene a meeting to go through the proposal line by line.

However, as reported by trustees during the meeting the board president informed members that committee meetings were being suspended, resulting in the library’s director and business manager not attending. Despite this, members of the Finance Committee proceeded with a review alongside the treasurer, analyzing the budget to the best of their ability without administrative input.

During that review, several areas of concern were reportedly identified, and a formal report outlining those issues was submitted to the full board days before the vote.

An effort was made ahead of the meeting to amend the agenda to include the Finance Committee’s findings, but the request was not approved. A similar motion made during the meeting was also voted down, preventing the committee’s report from being presented prior to the budget vote.

The board proceeded to approve the 4.5% increase after hearing from the library director, without significant discussion of the concerns raised or a detailed line-by-line review.

The measure ultimately passed, with Waldman and Rubinstein casting the only dissenting votes.

It remains unclear if library officials will respond to the concerns raised regarding the process leading up to the vote.