The library’s proposed budget includes salary increases for employees, reductions in programming and collections costs, and a lower mill levy rate for taxpayers.

The Library Board met Tuesday night to discuss next year’s budget, which will be finalized next month.

The budget proposal is around $429,000, or about a $19,000 increase from last year’s. 

However, President Kenny Massey said the board decided to decrease the current mill levy rate from 3.44 to 3.214. Treasurer Amy Jankowski said the reasoning behind lowering the rate is to ensure the library can qualify for state aid. 

The library is increasing its payroll expenses by 11% for the next fiscal year. Executive Director Carol Wohlford said each employee will be getting between a 1% and 3% raise.

“Everybody is getting a raise because everybody’s done a wonderful job,” she said.

Wohlford said the library is also increasing salaries to have competitive pay. 

Wohlford also said the library has allocated $1,000 to bring on a summer employee. She said this role would most likely be given to a younger person looking for a summer job. 

Payroll expenses are the library’s largest category, totaling $282,238. Wohlford said the library is required to allocate 65% of the budget toward payroll.

Along with payroll, the board discussed increasing funds for utilities to $9,300 to prepare for the city’s estimated utility increase for 2025.  

The budget includes cuts to programming and collections. The library’s programming budget, totaling $17,885, is down 35% from last year. Jankowski said this was a hard thing to do, but all of the staff seemed to be on board. 

“Hopefully, we’ll have the funds to do what we need to do and if there is extra, we can kind of shift to that later,” Jankowski said. 

Wohlford said the reason programming is being brought down is because the library isn’t focusing on bringing in new programming, just continuing what they already do. 

“We have our programming established that our people love and will bring back,” she said. 

Wohlford also said programming is the easiest category for the library to receive grants for, so she is hoping to apply for more grants to get funds for any new programming. 

She said the funds taken out of programming were allocated toward the utilities category as well as the repairs and maintenance category. 

Collection development, totaling $34,018, was cut by nearly 45% from last year. Jankowski said this decrease is because the library is currently at capacity.

“There isn’t really room to put anything new,” she said. 

Massey said most of the other budget categories are not seeing any change next year. 

Wohlford said she is proud of her staff and the board for creating this budget. 

“It’s what came out of discussion with the staff,” she said. “They were very involved.”

The budget will be finalized at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 20 at the library. The board will hold a budget hearing during the meeting.

In other business, the board gave Jankowski authority to move forward with bonding the board’s treasurer position. 

Bonding the position will cost the library about $250 a year, but Jankowski said it’s necessary. 

“We have to have our treasurer bonded,” she said. “I think it’s very reasonable.”

Reach reporter Ryn Drummond at [email protected]

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