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February 13, 2009

League of Municipalities takes aim at library funding

The Times of Montclair

(by Terrence T. McDonald - February 12, 2009)

The League of Municipalities is urging the state Legislature to slash by half the mandatory municipal funding for public libraries, a move library advocates say would be devastating to libraries statewide.

Though the proposal is not yet on the radar of state legislators, 60 library boards across the state and several municipalities have already approved resolutions opposing it, according to Patricia Tumulty, executive director of the New Jersey Library Association.

"This is something that would be detrimental," Tumulty said. "We can’t do it."

The idea of cutting mandatory library funding has been brewing for a while, but has moved to the forefront since the economic downturn began last year, Deborah M. Kole, a League of Municipalities attorney, told The Times. Kole stressed that the proposal would allow municipalities to cut funding, not require them to do so.

"They would only ‘be forced to’ if there were other needs that were even stronger for the residents," she said.

A state statute requires New Jersey municipalities to provide at least "1/3 of a mill" – which translates into one-third of one thousandth of the municipality’s total tax base – to their public libraries. The League of Municipalities’ proposal would cut that mandatory funding in half.

The statute, which was last amended in 1985 and before that in 1944, is long overdue for a change, if only to allow municipalities that don’t need "1/3 of a mill" to use the money for non-library purposes, Kole said.

"This has been a long-standing issue for those municipalities that don’t need it for the library and it’s just sitting there," she said. "Meanwhile, they’re not able to give property tax relief to their taxpayers."

If a library has a surplus, then that doesn’t necessarily mean it should be given back to taxpayers or spent on other items, Tumulty said. Often, surpluses are saved for capital projects such as purchasing new computers or upgrading carpet, she said.

"They are, from our point of view, frugally managing their money," Tumulty said.

In Montclair, the public library is required to receive about $2.5 million annually in municipal funding. In 2008, its municipal allocation was $3.85 million, out of a total budget of $4.96 million.

The library cost a Montclair resident with an average home, appraised at $656,000, $345 in 2008.

Last week, the Montclair Public Library Board of Trustees voted unanimously to oppose the League of Municipalities’ proposal. Library Director David Hinkley said the proposal would open the door for municipalities to cut essential library services.

"I think that the library community found it very shocking," Hinkley told The Times.

Hinkley noted that state officials, who have warned of a very lean 2009 budget, are considering a 20 percent reduction of centralized library services and per capita assistance, which provided Montclair’s Library with $50,000 last year.

This proposed cut, coupled with the League of Municipalities’ proposal, would be detrimental, Hinkley said.

"Portions of the Montclair community … rely very heavily on the library," the director said.

The League’s proposal will probably not find many supporters in the state Legislature, according to Assemblyman Thomas P. Giblin, who resides in Montclair.

It’s counter-productive in an economic downturn to cut funding for libraries, which serve a greater purpose in bad times than in good by providing unemployed residents with computer access to search for jobs and compose resumes, Giblin said.

He added that libraries aren’t exactly sitting on massive piles of money.

"A lot of these libraries are struggling to begin with. They’re just kind of eking by," Giblin said

Posted by tumulty at February 13, 2009 6:05 AM

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