Library Board Presents Proposed Operating Budget

As the wintery weather continues, it's budget season at the Port Washington Public Library. After the early-February blizzard canceled the budget hearing and meeting earlier this month, the Port Washington Public Library's Board of Trustees presented the proposed 2010-11 Library Operating Budget during a meeting last week.

The budget for the fiscal year, running from July 2010 through June 30, 2011, was proposed at $6,514,482, which will mean a 1.88 percent tax levy increase, and will increase the budget by 2.98 percent above this year's budget.

"If you take away the government mandated increases imposed on us by the state and our contractual obligations, we'd be even." said board member John O'Connell, in reference to the $138,415 increase in retirement costs, a health benefits increase of $29,108, and contractual increases for staff.

To compensate for this, members of the board said they have gone through the budget with a fine-toothed comb and cut wherever they could.

"We've left two positions unfilled and continue to lower costs by going green," said PWPL's director Nancy Curtin. "The newsletter in March will explain in more detail, and copies of the proposed budget are available at the library and will soon be posted online." Once the budget is approved by the board at the next budget meeting on March 17, then it should appear on the library's Web site.

Curtin said the library continues to find new ways to conserve energy including having light sensors in many of its rooms, as well as variable speed drives which control air flow for heating and cooling. "We're hoping to save 15 to 20 percent on utility costs this year." she said. "That should help lower our costs."

The board is continuously trying to trim costs, and according to board president Julie Geller, the Port Washington Library will do so through its newly redesigned Web site, a Twitter and Facebook page, and e-mail blasts updating patrons.

But the library will continue to put out a monthly newsletter, which increases printing costs, until the board is comfortable enough with solely getting its message out online. "We're trying to go where people are, instead of trying to get them to come to us." Curtin said. "Eventually, we will consider doing away with a printed newsletter."

Following the presentation, the trustees discussed the budget and continued to look for ways to make it smaller. Curtin said the board tried to kept increases to a bare minimum while cutting where possible.

"We have kept the budget as close to the bone as possible while still providing our public with the best possible service," Curtin said.

The next budget hearing will be held at the Board of Trustees meeting on Wednesday, March 17, at 7:30 p.m. and a week later, on March 24, a budget information session will be held at 7:30 p.m. as well. The budget vote and trustee election will both take place on April 6 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the library.