Residents: Borough Should Pay for Library Electricity

The could be bracing itself for more budgetary constraints in 2012, and the issue is largely dependent upon whether the borough will provide utility services, such as electricity, to the building.

“Dealing with this from our budgetary standpoint, the big issue, the elephant in the room, is what are we going to do with the electric and utility charge,” Thomas Bintinger, president of the Madison Public Library Board of Trustees, said during Saturday morning's budget hearing at the .

Bintinger estimated that, with assistance in paying for electricity from the borough, the library ended up with a $15,000 surplus in 2008. Since then, the library has been forced to pay more into its own utility bill, shelling out an additional $120,000 in each of the past three years.

"Everything’s in an evolutionary stage," Councilman Don Links said. "What I do want to make crystal clear is that the economy today, and over the last year or two years, is completely different from what it was in 2000 and the last decade."

Without assistance this year, the library would be left with a balance of $81,032 under its current proposed budget, which would make it necessary for the library to cut $138,777 (11.79 percent) of its budget in order to break even.

If this is the case, the library would be forced to re-align its staffing, which it has already done in recent years by relying more on volunteers and part-time hourly employees. In 2011, volunteers logged more than 1,000 hours at the library, and many employees have already been switched from a salaried position to an hourly one.

“The only avenues that are really open to us [to cut] are our hours and staffing,” Bintinger said. “We would end up shrinking the hours and staffing.”

Bintinger made it clear, though, that the library and its employees hope they can work together to avoid the termination of employees.

“We basically approached them and said, either we can do head count reduction program, where people would lose their jobs, or we can share and everybody can get [hours] cut proportionately,” Bintinger said.

Residents voiced their support Saturday of the library and its employees.

“I followed [Mayor Bob Conley’s] talks to residents as he was running for office, and my point of view is not reflected in the town. Citizens love this library,” resident Pat Miller said. “The library held fast by every meeting I attended to the point of citizens mentioning they could do without some other services. It is a big, big part of the town. They’re proud of it, and they use it. It’s a community meeting place.”

Ralph Graham, who works at the library, said, “My feeling is, as a person that works there, uses the library and raised three girls in this town, the library is a cultural center. Going forward, we can do new things to make it even better.”

Many residents seemed unhappy with the idea that utilities at the library are not included in the borough’s budget in the way that many municipal buildings are, including the Hartley Dodge Memorial Complex and the borough’s .

“It struck me when I was looking through the financials this morning. The library budget is the only budget that even mentions the reimbursement for the utilities used,” resident Missy Durham said. “As a resident, I resent that they’re being picked on. I don’t understand why it’s being presented just to the library. I feel like they’re being sectioned out for this.”

Added resident Joshua Roth, “I think it would be horrible, at this point, to squeeze the library even further. The library is not asking for very much to have its electrical subsidy restored. I think the council owes it to the people of Madison to restore support to the library.”