The Cranbury Library Should Return Budget Surplus to the Taxpayers of Cranbury

[Cranbury Conservative]

April 8, 2008


'Excess funds' law takes effect

By JIM WALSH
Courier-Post Staff

A new state law, promoted by a South Jersey legislator, allows towns to tap "excess" funds at their local libraries.

The measure, signed Monday by Gov. Jon S. Corzine, could help some municipal governments resist tax increases or service cutbacks, said a sponsor, Assemblyman Paul Moriarty, D-Gloucester.

Under the law, libraries would receive all funds needed for operations, as well as a 25 percent budget surplus. But funds above that amount could be returned to the local government, if library trustees approve.

"In some cases, taxpayers are sending twice what is needed to pay for the library," said Moriarty, who blamed a state funding formula. "We should never overbudget any department."

Moriarty, who is also mayor of Washington Township, was blocked last year when he tried to move $400,000 in library funds to the township's coffers.

But Moriarty said Washington Township now will not seek that money, because its Margaret E. Heggan Library is planning to double in size at a new location.

"If we're able to go through with the plan, we'd need the (surplus) money to fit out the new library," he said.

Additional details of the expansion project were not available Monday night.

The new law sailed through the Assembly and Senate in three months, with just two legislators voting against it.

"This bill originally had opposition from librarians and library societies," acknowledged Moriarty. "But they came to realize this is not a threat,."

Robert Wetherall, executive director of the South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative, could not be reached for comment on the law.

Under a state formula, towns that fund municipal libraries do so at a fixed rate of $33 for every $100,000 of taxable property.

Statewide, 244 towns fund libraries -- including Riverton, Cherry Hill and Pitman in the tri-county area.

The formula results in an "embarrassment of riches" for some libraries, said Moriarty.

He noted Ocean City, with 15,000 year-round residents, sends $3.5 million to $4 million to its library annually. "They couldn't possibly spend that," Moriarty said.

He said the excess funds are increasingly needed by towns because a year-old law limits hikes in the local property tax levy to 4 percent.

Cherry Hill Mayor Bernie Platt said his town is unlikely to seek funds from the township library. "I am being told that the Cherry Hill Library is running very tight with the money we give them," he said.

But Platt said officials would review the library's budget to identify potential savings.

Staff writer Lisa Grzyboski contributed to this report. Reach Jim Walsh at (856) 486-2646 or jwalsh@courierpostonline.com

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[Guest]

Does the library have surplus? How can I find out?

[Guest]

From the TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE MEETING Minutes JANUARY 14, 2007

Mayor Stout reported the Township’s 2008 Budget Process is well underway. The Township Committee had a very productive four-hour plus meeting on Saturday, January 12, 2008 and will have another meeting on Saturday, January 26th at 8:00 a.m. Mayor Stout encouraged the public to participate in these meetings, stating the Township Committee discusses the Township’s money collectively. Mayor Stout thanked Christine Smeltzer, Administrator and Denise Marabello, Chief Financial Officer, for collecting all the data from the Township’s Departments, Boards and Commissions and stated, as with every municipal budget before, the proposed 2008 Budget contains operating costs for which the Township exercises control as well as for items driven by State Statute for which the Township has no control. These Statutory costs include: the Library, which is driven by a statutory formula which raises the cost from year to year. Mayor Stout reported, like years before, the Library costs will rise again and could go up to $610,000.

[Guest]

Cranbury Library Total Operating Expenditures for 2005: $285,877

Source: http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/libraries/Public.asp


The 2008 budget for Cranbury calls for over $600,000 for the Library.


Did the cost to run the Library double in the last 3 years?

[Guest]

Is the roof repair part of the 2008 library's budget? We just approved the school to pay for the roof repair - IS the school and library double dipping?