Yisroel R.

Voters in the East Ramapo Central School District came out to vote today in the Finkelstein Memorial Library election, with one trustee seat on the ballot along with a proposed 4.5 percent budget increase.

After polls closed Tuesday evening, Ariel Dahan was declared the winner of the trustee race with 446 votes, while the proposed budget increase was voted down by residents in a 519 to 317 vote.

Joan received 192 votes, while Marie received 135 votes. Moshe Dear, who remained on the ballot despite publicly withdrawing from the race, received 35 votes after urging supporters to instead vote for Dahan.The trustee race drew significant attention in recent weeks following confusion surrounding the number of seats available in the election.

Moshe Dear was also on the ballot, but publicly stepped aside from the race after the New York State Education Department declined to issue a stay request related to the election process. Dear instead urged supporters to vote for Dahan, saying he did not want to split the vote after only one trustee seat ultimately remained on the ballot.

The proposed budget had also become a major topic of discussion in recent weeks, with residents voicing concerns about transparency, taxpayer representation, accountability, and the overall budgeting process. With residents ultimately voting ‘No’ on the increase, the library will now have to reshape its budget in the coming weeks.