Steep cuts in the town’s 2010 budget may result in the town’s Public Library cutting staff and reducing the days of operation from seven to five.
Those aren’t the only possible changes that would be implemented if the Town Board remains steadfast in its plan to chop its contribution to the library by 25 percent, library officials said.
Others include:
* The number of computers available for the public could be cut from about 20 to about 15.
*Magazine subscriptions could be slashed by 50 percent.
* Far fewer new books would be purchased next year.
“We recognize that the town has got a sincere challenge, and we are willing to work with them as much as we can,” library Treasurer Earl Cunningham said. “However, we can’t see how we can operate a viable library with $400,000 in funding.”
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BY THE NUMBERS 2009 budget: Library stats Source: New Hartford Public Library |
In 2009, the town contributed $535,341 to the library. The proposed 2010 budget calls for $400,000.
Cunningham and other library officials pleaded their case Thursday evening before town officials in one of several working sessions the town is conducting in an effort to cut more costs and reduce a possible 54 percent tax hike.
About 20 library supporters attended Thursday’s meeting which became
emotional at times.
“I realize it’s a large cut for you and I’m sorry,”
Councilwoman Christine Krupa told the group. “But we just don’t have a choice.”
She said it was unlikely the funds would be reinstated because doing that would increase the tax hike even more.
Cuts to the library, senior center and a slew of other services were figured into the budget submitted by Town Supervisor Earle Reed last week. But even with the proposed cuts, a tax hike is necessary after the town burned through all of the $2.8 million in its main savings account in the past four years.
Sharing the pain
The library has 15,780 card holders and had 198,000 visitors in 2008,
Cunningham’s figures show.
New Hartford residents at the library this week
said they value the facility, but also understand the need to hold the line on
taxes.
Jon Parrotte, who was reading a book in one of the library’s arm chairs, thought hard about whether he’d want to increase library funding back to 2009 levels.
“I’d like more things for me and my kids to do here,” he said.
But in the end he declined to say whether it would be worth it if his taxes went way up.
Ed Hunt, who was reading a newspaper, said he would understand if the library had to reduce the days it was open, given the town’s troubled financial situation.
“Everyone has to share in the pain,” he said.
At Thursday’s meeting, library board members and supporters spoke of the important role libraries serve in difficult economic times.
They also said it enhances quality of life in the town.
Krupa said she herself was upset about the cuts, but believed they had to be made.
“At the end of the day, we just don’t have the money,” she said.
Money debate
Library officials said they realize the need for cuts. They proposed reducing the town’s share to $508,000 for 2010.
Reducing the number of days the library is open would cut back on the $40,000 in utility costs and the about $400,000 in salaries and benefits the library had last year, Cunningham said.
Cunningham also said the library went ahead with a recent $2.2 million addition that almost doubled its size because of assurances from town officials that annual funding would support it.
Other funding sources for the library in 2009 include $56,800 from Oneida County, about $50,000 in library charges and fees, and about $17,000 in state aid, miscellaneous donations and grants, according to figures provided by Cunningham.
After salaries and benefits, the second largest annual cost is for the purchase of new books. In 2009, the library budgeted $75,000. In 2010, officials said they will have to reduce that figure dramatically.
