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April 6, 2011

Libraries break out

http://www.northjersey.com
Thursday, March 31, 2011

The Record- Editorial

PROPERTY TAX bills will have a new line item, and, in this case, it’s a good thing. Towns will now break out the amount paid toward their municipal or joint public libraries in the same way other towns provide a separate line for their contributions to county libraries. The law was signed by Governor Christie last week.

Library funding is a very small part of a municipal tax bill. Residents will see this clearly with the new layout. But local libraries’ diminutive cost relative to schools, police and the rest, belies their outsized contribution to their communities. They are community center, coffee klatch, job center, classroom and newsstand rolled into one. They provide a safe place for children after school, and a space for adults to relax during the day. Some host free tax preparers for older adults. Others host English classes for their newest residents. A public library is a concrete expression of civic values. And separating its cost from the general tax levy will drive home its bang for the buck.

This is not an extra tax. But how it gets its own line on your tax bill is somewhat complicated. Local public libraries must be funded according to a state formula relating to assessed property value. That won’t change. But to have a distinct line, the library funding will be removed from its place in a municipality’s general fund — the part held to the 2 percent property tax cap. If a town wants to give its library more money than it’s required to allocate, that extra portion will be included in the general fund and will be subject to the cap.

New Milford has decided to go this route, Staff Writer Melissa Hayes reports. It must allocate approximately $659,000 to the library. It wants to give nearly $681,000. So the $22,000 difference will be folded into the general budget and count toward the 2 percent ceiling.

The Northvale Public Library, which is fighting for its life at the moment, will not reap the benefits of the new law, unfortunately. It is an association library and not funded the same way.

Adding libraries to the list of enumerated services on tax bills takes away the mystery of how much they cost each homeowner, and keeps alive the idea that libraries are a crucial part of a community.

Posted by tumulty at April 6, 2011 7:35 PM

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