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March 11, 2009

Mayor: Other factors affected deal on WT library

Gloucester County Times

Wednesday, March 11, 2009
By Jessica Beym
jbeym@sjnewsco.com

WASHINGTON TWP. The North Jersey assemblyman who introduced a bill to cut library funding in half last month said he doesn't have any plans to move forward with the bill in its current form.

Assemblyman Vincent Prieto said the bill came about because of New Jersey League of Municipalities concerns that library funding is included within 4 percent cap on local budgets, adding to budgeting problems.

Prieto proposed cutting the minimum library funding amount from one third of a mill per $100 of assessed property value Ð or about $33.33 per $100,000 Ð to one sixth of a mill per $100. One mill equals a tenth of a cent.

With that news, Washington Township Mayor Matthew Lyons said he was forced to reconsider the plan to buy a new building on Delsea Drive to serve as the new municipal library. The township wouldn't be able to afford the library if funding were cut, he said at he time.

Lyons said this week the township is still negotiating with the owners of the Education and Information Resource Center, but he still has funding concerns even if the bill doesn't move forward, he said.

"I'm not taking anything out of the mix of consideration," Lyons said. "The Legislature and the government are in predicaments right now that are unparalleled. I'm just being cognizant of that and trying to strike the best deal."

Prieto said his original intent of the bill was to find a way to ease the burden for municipalities that were struggling to meet funding requirements and stay within the state mandated cap.

"In the tough economic times that we have, the League of Municipalities was pushing hard for this," he said. "Because libraries are under the 4 percent cap, it makes it very difficult for municipalities to fund them. When the funding is over that 4 percent, then it throws everything off."

He said he recently met with state library advocates to discuss the bill and their concerns and are working toward a compromise.

The bill, as introduced, was just "a starting point," Prieto said.

"We're looking at making funding of libraries a separate line item, like open space, so that way it could be outside the cap," he said. "The bill is not going to go in its current form," he added.

Lyons said that the bill was just one of the reasons they decided to cancel the contract with EIRC. Former Mayor Paul Moriarty signed a contract in December to buy the 20,000-square-foot building for $4.65 million, which included the price of renovations. The plan was that the library board would be able to fund the entire purchase without raising additional taxes because it had money saved up in its surplus and would also be able to pay down the debt with its annual allotment.

But the township council never finalized the bond ordinance and a 90-day extension on the contract Ð to March 2 Ð lapsed without the funding being secured. However, Lyons said he hasn't ruled the EIRC building out.

"We're still moving forward, still in communication," Lyons said. "I'm not going to negotiate the terms in the paper. But we're still active, still going back and forth."

He said there are other options that are being considered for a new library but that they are "speculative" at this point.

"My concern is the overall, long-term financial health and independence of the library," Lyons said. "We're just trying to explore all options. "

Posted by tumulty at March 11, 2009 9:32 PM

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