"In some cases, taxpayers are sending twice what is needed to pay for the library," said Moriarty, who blamed a state funding formula. "We should never overbudget any department."

Moriarty, who is also mayor of Washington Township, was blocked last year when he tried to move $400,000 in library funds to the township's coffers.

But Moriarty said Washington Township now will not seek that money, because its Margaret E. Heggan Library is planning to double in size at a new location.

"If we're able to go through with the plan, we'd need the (surplus) money to fit out the new library," he said.

Additional details of the expansion project were not available Monday night.

The new law sailed through the Assembly and Senate in three months, with just two legislators voting against it.

"This bill originally had opposition from librarians and library societies," acknowledged Moriarty. "But they came to realize this is not a threat,."

Robert Wetherall, executive director of the South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative, could not be reached for comment on the law.

Under a state formula, towns that fund municipal libraries do so at a fixed rate of $33 for every $100,000 of taxable property.

Statewide, 244 towns fund libraries -- including Riverton, Cherry Hill and Pitman in the tri-county area.

The formula results in an "embarrassment of riches" for some libraries, said Moriarty.

He noted Ocean City, with 15,000 year-round residents, sends $3.5 million to $4 million to its library annually. "They couldn't possibly spend that," Moriarty said.

He said the excess funds are increasingly needed by towns because a year-old law limits hikes in the local property tax levy to 4 percent.

Cherry Hill Mayor Bernie Platt said his town is unlikely to seek funds from the township library. "I am being told that the Cherry Hill Library is running very tight with the money we give them," he said.

But Platt said officials would review the library's budget to identify potential savings.

Staff writer Lisa Grzyboski contributed to this report. Reach Jim Walsh at (856) 486-2646 or jwalsh@courierpostonline.com