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For the past two months, the Library Trustees have been struggling to come up with a budget strategy, if the Town's funding stays flat and is limited to 1% increase. The difference between a "Level Services" budget and a budget with only 1% increase in Town funding is $68,769. (The increased cost is due solely to the rise in "fixed costs" over which we have very little control, such as health insurance benefits, negotiated salary increases, utility rates, and maintenance contracts.)
Unless there is an override voted by Amherst residents, we would have to either cut $68,769 or come up with this much in new revenues.
At their Feb. 26th meeting, the Trustees decided to present the following list of cuts and new revenues as their "no override" budget.
- Add in $19,000 from increased revenue now being collected in overdue fines (primarily from AV) now that we charge the C/W MARS fine rates on the computer system.
- Cut the part time office clerk hourly staff ($7,000) and use the automated telephone system to answer phone calls.
- Cut out $20,000 from the budget for new library materials.
- Cut the current ESL program $27,000 (There would still be a balance of $4,231 to use for some type of ESL activity.) This very special program has served Amherst residents for twenty years! While the need continues, the Trustees decided that this program serves a smaller number of residents than other library programs.
This has been a very, very difficult decision for everyone, and the Trustees reserve the right to adjust these amounts as other new sources of revenues become available. An override vote is scheduled for May 1, for example, and other sources of private funds may yet be determined.