Budget cuts sorely effect the library.
By: Sharlee DiMenichi
Members of the township library board of trustees will have to decide how to offset a possible budget shortfall.
The options, to be discussed April 10, include closing the library one day a week or reducing the amount of new material the library can purchase.
Board of trustees President Muhammad Ashraf said the library could face a $27,000 budget shortfall because of a possible slump in fines and fees as fewer patrons use the library during the construction of an expansion project. He also said some staff members might retire this year, requiring a lump-sum payment of retirement benefits.
Mr. Ashraf said the board will appeal to the Township Council to increase township funding for the library. The 2003 municipal budget, introduced March 18, allocates $2,325,612 to maintain the library. The library received $2,211,763 in 2002.
Money from the township usually covers the library’s operating expenses, such as paying employees, heating the building and purchasing materials.
However, Mr. Ashraf said an unexpected drop in revenue could leave the library short on money.
He said a 15 to 20 percent reduction in acquiring new materials could yield $15,000 to $20,000 in savings for the year, Mr. Ashraf said.
In addition, closing the library every Sunday beginning April 1 would save $18,000 in 2003. Closing Mondays would save $24,000 a year, Mr. Ashraf said. The library would save more money by closing Mondays because of differences in staffing levels and length of hours on weekdays vs. weekends, Mr. Ashraf said.
Mr. Ashraf said he hopes the library will be able to remain open for a full schedule.
"We don’t want to close the library," he said.
He said board members were waiting until next Thursday’s meeting to decide how they would address the budget problem.
"Truthfully, we have not made a decision as to what options we should choose," Mr. Ashraf said.
Mr. Ashraf said the operating budget is separate from the money for the expansion project.
The $4.2 million project will add 15,000 square feet to the Kingston Lane building, enlarging the children’s section, adding homework rooms for teen-agers, increasing stack space and creating a computer lab.
In September 2000, township auditors from Ernst and Young raised questions about the library’s accounting practices, but the library’s assistant director, Carl Heffington, said the budget limitations are unrelated to past accounting concerns, which he said have been resolved.
"That has nothing to do with any accounting practices," Mr. Heffington said of the shortfall.