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July 27, 2009

Referendum proposed; borough facility would become county branch

App.com
July 24, 2009
W. Long Branch may dissolve library

By CAROL GORGA WILLIAMS
COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU
In an effort to end double taxation, officials plan to seek voter approval to dissolve the borough library and make it a branch of the Monmouth County Library system, Councilman J. Thomas DeBruin said.
Through a fluke in the system, property owners are taxed twice because the borough maintains a local library that also is a member of the county system.

Because the local library was created by municipal referendum in 1927, it could be dissolved the same way, according to a ruling from the state.

Voters could be asked Nov. 3 if they favor the library's dissolution, allowing it to become a Monmouth County branch, which would make the county responsible for most library expenses. A public hearing and final vote are scheduled for Aug. 5 at Borough Hall.

Since 1959, the borough has been a "member" of the county's system, a partnership that in 2009 cost taxpayers $194,134. Taxpayers also were obligated to pay $477,056 to the local library.

If the referendum were approved, the borough immediately could save at least $377,000, officials said. Such a move already has been endorsed by county freeholders, who would have final say over personnel and funding.

Kenneth Sheinbaum, Monmouth County Library System director, said users of the borough library would not see many changes if it became a county branch.

"They don't have so many people that it should be terribly problematic," said Sheinbaum of staffing decisions. "There could be some minor adjustments, but I don't see any major changes. Even with our branches, the collections aren't all the same. It depends on the demographics of the community, the preferences of the community. We let the people tell us what they want."

Meanwhile, the local library board voted overwhelmingly in June to present another option. They favor severing ties with the county and linking up with a Middlesex County library consortium, which would cost $25,000 to join and $20,000 each year to remain in the group.

"We had decided several months ago that we needed to do something to help the town lower taxes," said Carol Hershkowitz, vice president of the local library board, who maintains the board plan would save the borough about $200,000 a year and that communities such as Long Branch and Red Bank are happy with their membership in the consortium.

"We would still be an autonomous group mindful of the needs of the residents of West Long Branch," she said, noting residents would have to pay $100 if they wanted a Monmouth County library card.

Under the library board's proposal, dissolving county membership would take two years, which means the borough would be obligated to pay the tax for 2010 and 2011, a solution DeBruin and Mayor Janet W. Tucci say is unacceptable. Tucci, a member of the local library board, said its members are well intentioned, and she would have gone along with the majority vote but for her realization that borough voters are actually being taxed twice, which cannot continue, she said.

"I cannot in good faith continue to ask the residents to pay double in these economic times," Tucci said. "And by putting this on the ballot, I can let the residents decide."
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Posted by tumulty at July 27, 2009 9:46 AM

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