Voters to decide how to finance city library

If approved, the referendum would make the library’s budget subject to the same yearly review process as other city departments.

By: Linda Seida
   LAMBERTVILLE — The fate of the Lambertville Public Library is in the hands of voters.
   At the polls in November, voters will face a ballot question that asks if the library should be "de-municipalized."
   If they approve the question, the funding mechanism for the library will be changed.
   Right now the state mandates an annual payment to municipal libraries based on assessed property values with an allowable increase of up to 15 percent annually.
   The binding referendum would make the library’s budget subject to the same yearly review process by the City Council as other departments of local government, such as Public Works, with no mandated amount.
   The City Council agreed Monday to put the question to voters despite objections from the library’s supporters, who feel the process is rushed and say they want more details. They also want assurance the library will survive.
   "We believe this is a precipitous reaction to what we have reason to believe may very well be a temporary situation," library board of trustees Chairwoman Leanne Parks told the council, reading from a letter sent by the board.
   Ms. Parks said more than 240 other municipalities in the state with local libraries face the same budget crunch but are not rushing toward change. The library board called the city’s proposal a "drastic response to a situation that is likely to be rectified during the next legislative session."
   "There is not a solution in the works that I’m aware of," said Mayor David Del Vecchio, who is president of the League of Municipalities. "The Legislature comes back in lame duck."
   The mayor asked, "We who have the fiduciary responsibility to run the city, what do we do?"
   If voters support the change, officials say the next step is to create a "hybrid." The intent is to join the Hunterdon County Library system, giving local patrons access to more materials and services while the city creates a library department and retains control of the building and employees.
   If the ballot questions passes, it does not guarantee an agreement with the county system. The referendum only changes the funding mechanism and gives authorization to enter into negotiations with the county library.
   Questions abound concerning how the hybrid creation would work in practical terms. Such an agreement would need to be hammered out after the referendum, officials said.
   The agreement would be in place for between three and seven years. To overturn it, another referendum would be required.
   The city will hold a public meeting Sept. 18 to answer questions and explain the ballot question.
   Mark Titus, a city resident who is director of the county library system, will be there to answer questions. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Justice Center on South Union Street.
   The proposal for change is being driven by the state’s new 4 percent cap on municipalities’ tax levies. For Lambertville, that would mean an increase of no more than $50,000 in 2008.
   If nothing is done to change the way the library is funded, when the city begins the budget process in December for 2008, it will face a state mandated library budget increase of $37,500.
   This year, the library’s budget is $243,332.
   Officials say if nothing is done to change the funding mechanism, just $12,500 would be available for other expenses, such as rising energy costs and salaries.
   Without change, it could mean the loss of a job for a city employee or the cancellation of some services such as Sparkle Week, a citywide cleanup, officials said.