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May 25, 2010
Somerville library study sound-off June 1
c-n.com
May 24, 2010
SOMERVILLE — The public can share their thoughts and concerns on whether the borough library should join the county system during a hearing on June 1.
The Library Review Task Force is one recent example of the borough studying a partnership with Somerset County to save costs and increase efficiencies. The borough is contracting with the county for health department functions and exploring a move to county dispatch.
The upcoming meeting, scheduled so the task force can collect public comment, will be held in the main reading room of the library. Those interested can also submit written comments beforehand to the borough administrator.
No matter the eventual recommendation to the mayor and Borough Council from the task force, officials have pledged to not strike a deal that would close the library facility, which is attached to Borough Hall and at 35 W. End Ave.
Direct borough funding makes up the bulk of the library's finances, according to a March 23 presentation by Borough Clerk/Administrator Kevin Sluka to the task force. The cost to operate the library is expected to climb from $713,705 in 2009 to $751,170 this year.
Employee health benefits are among the cost drivers in the library's budget. The monthly health benefit cost for a family plan, for example, rose from about $845 in 2004 to $1,197 in 2010.
The 86,869 items checked out of the library in 2009 represented the highest number since at least 1999, according to the presentation. Meanwhile, the 63,071 library visits last year were the second lowest annual total between 1999 and 2009.
The library reported 48,731 items in its collection in 2009, down from 57,526 in 2008.
The borough also studied joining the county's network of libraries in 2006. Thirteen towns belong to the county system.
If the library joined the county system, the borough would still own the facility and pay for the utilities and other operating expenses. The county would cover staff, materials and other nonfacility costs.
Municipalities that belong to the county system help fund it through a dedicated library tax. The rate in 2009 ranged from lows of 3.4 cents per $100 dollars of assessed value in Millstone and 3.9 cents per $100 in North Plainfield to a high of 8.2 cents per $100 dollars of assessed value in Rocky Hill.
Martin C. Bricketto: 908-243-6609; mbricketto@MyCentralJersey.com
Posted by tumulty at May 25, 2010 9:47 AM
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