2006 Budget
2006 Mid-year Budget Review (PDF)
Public Service Impacts (PDF)
2006 Property Tax Levy (PDF)
2006 Budget Adoption
At its regular monthly meeting today, the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library (B&ECPL) adopted a 2006 operating budget of $25,599,226. On November 15th, the Erie County Legislature adopted a 2006 County Budget, allocating $21.7 million in property tax for library purposes. No capital funds for new library materials were included. This amount is $7 million and 24.5% less in total County support than the Library received in 2004, reducing County funding to levels provided ten years ago.
View the entire B&ECPL 2006 budget adoption package, including detailed revenue and expense charts (PDF)
Erie County support totals more than 85% of the Library's revenue, said Library Board Chair Rebecca L. Pordum . Obviously, we cannot absorb cuts of this magnitude without painful adjustments to Library operations throughout the County. No matter how we approach it, $21.7 million is not enough to deliver even a facsimile of the record-breaking service the Library delivered in 2004. Of the 36 libraries that will receive County funding in 2006, each must do much more with far less.
In order to seek supplemental revenue to sustain services compromised by reduced County support, the Library Board also announced the establishment of a new Development Office to be managed (on a transitional basis) by Ruth A. Collins, effective January 1, 2006. This follows previous action by the Board, recognizing the need for the Library to create development capacity within its internal operations.
A 35-year veteran of the Library System, Mrs. Collins has held various positions on the Library's administrative team since 1985 when she was appointed Human Resources Officer and, later, Assistant Deputy Director for Public Services. Her current assignment is Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer (COO), a position she has held for three years. The annual stipend for this new post is $48,000.
Citing the fact that during Collins' term as COO, the Library has applied for and received more than $1.7 million in government grants and aid as well as more than $140,000 in corporate grant awards, Chair Pordum said, We are pleased that Mrs. Collins has agreed to defer her full-time retirement plans in order to assist the Library in its development efforts.
B&ECPL Director Michael C. Mahaney explained that this office will expand the Library's ability to deliver services as it consolidates responsibility for grants coordination, corporate sponsorships and administration of a new System-wide volunteer program. In light of staffing reductions, the Library must reassess service priorities for 2006 and beyond, and this service plan will form the basis for the Library's fundraising objectives, he said. I believe that Mrs. Collins' experience, accomplishments and commitment to the organization qualify her uniquely to assist us in this endeavor.
In consideration of her most important tasks over the next 12 months, Collins said: Maximizing existing relationships with local foundations and corporate partners, developing a synergistic relationship with the Library Foundation of Buffalo and Erie County and recruiting a development professional to implement the Library's fundraising plan are my top goals.
As Collins steps down as COO, she will be succeeded by B&ECPL's current Human Resources Officer Mary Jean Jakubowski. Mrs. Jakubowski is a 14-year veteran of the Library System, with management experience in various Library departments. She received her Masters of Library Science Degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo's School of Information and Library Studies in 1991. The Board approved Jakubowski's three-year appointment, with a salary of $85,000. The Human Resources Office will remain part of Ms. Jakubowski's multiple responsibilities until a new Human Resources Officer is recruited in mid-2006.
In separate action, the Board of Trustees reappointed Library Director Michael C. Mahaney to a second three-year term. His current salary of $102,000 will remain unchanged as he begins his second term, but it is subject to Board review in mid-2006.
Statement from Board Chair Rebecca Pordum - 2006 Budget
The Buffalo and Erie County Public Library neither created nor contributed to the fiscal crisis that confronts Erie County. On the contrary, the Library, its staff and its many patrons are innocent bystanders. Never has the Library run a deficit, overestimated its revenue or outspent its income. Arguably, the Library returns more per tax dollar received than any other arm of County government and continues to accomplish more with less year after year.
Ironically, the Library predicted the current crisis seven years ago and tried to convince elected leaders and the community-at-large that a 52-library system is no longer viable as Erie County 's population and tax base decline. A system of fewer, better libraries was the hope the plan. That plan was realistic and rational, but there were precious few who would entertain such a notion then.
Now, as we approach 2006, there will be fewer libraries, but they will consist of the best of what we had, not the best we might have created.
Nevertheless, there is nothing to gain from hindsight and second-guessing. Where we are going is more important than where we have been.
With at least $7 million less to operate in 2006 than the Library had in 2004, our decision is how to do the most with what we have. Rather than whine and point fingers, the Library has shouldered this burden and accepted this challenge.
We know there's no extra money. Given that inescapable fact, we've prepared a plan. It is far from perfect, and it inflicts more pain than our public and our conscientious staff deserve, but our choices are few.
We must close libraries. We must strip our operation to the bone. We must send a generation of dedicated, talented staff to far destinations, while Erie County becomes poorer as they depart.
Ask any member of the Board or staff if they want this, and they'll glare at you in disbelief or outrage. But what are the alternatives?
No matter how anyone approaches it, $21.7 million is not enough to deliver even a facsimile of the service the Library delivers today far below the record-breaking service we delivered only last year. Every library that survives this unfortunate process must do much more with far less next year.
As we enumerate these plans and suggestions, we must remind the community that the B&ECPL Board of Trustees has no authority to close even one library outside the City of Buffalo . The B&ECPL Board provides operating revenue to those city, town, village and free association libraries in an annual contractual agreement. The System's Board might suggest the optimal way to allocate those financial resources, but it remains the decision of local officials as to how they operate their libraries with the dollars they receive, subject to System policies and the specific terms of the agreement.
When all is said and done, we cannot ignore the bottom line: $21.7 million. That amount is not enough even with reduced hours and new staffing strategies to sustain more than two-thirds of today's library system. A 2006 budget of $21.7 million cannot restore or maintain every library in Erie County , but with economies and strategies the number of potential closings has been confined to 16. Many more might have closed.
Last winter, when County parks, DMV offices and other County agencies were devastated by budget cuts, the Library managed to sustain service at all 52 locations, despite an 11% budget cut. Nine months later, the Library has no room left to maneuver. There is no miracle cure for Erie County 's fiscal ailments. Anyone expecting a quick fix is doomed to disappointment.
With foresight, the Library has prepared for the inevitable. We don't relish what we must do, but we are prepared to do it.
B&ECPL 2006 Budget Request
At its special session on September 1st, the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library (B&ECPL) Board of Trustees approved its 2006 budget request to Erie County, announced Board Chair Rebecca Pordum. The B&ECPL is requesting $21.7 million, the maximum amount Erie County Executive Joel Giambra has indicated he will recommend for the Library's property tax levy and the same amount that was received in 2005. All plans outlined in the budget request are contingent upon receiving this level of funding.
View the entire B&ECPL 2006 budget request, including Systems plans. (PDF)
On Tuesday, November 15, 2005, the Erie County Legislature adopted a 2006 spending plan, incorporating an increase in both the sales and property taxes. See http://www.erie.gov . As part of this budget, the B&ECPL is expected to receive a $21.7 million allocation as previously projected. The B&ECPL Board of Trustees will vote on approving its 2006 budget at its next meeting on Thursday, December 15th.
Preparing the 2006 budget has been a heart-wrenching process, said Pordum. No resident will tell you that their local library is not vital to the community. However, as a Library Board, we are being given a bottom line figure to fund operations within the entire System. Combining the County's funding target for a 2006 flat tax levy with the loss of County Capital funding for materials, the B&ECPL will likely receive more than $7 million less than in 2004. Erie County's 2006 support for the B&ECPL's operating and materials budget will most likely be pushed down to levels not seen since 1997. We can not receive this kind of cut without severely impacting the service we provide this community.
Thirty-six libraries will continue to receive support from the B&ECPL in 2006. However, all locations will be dramatically affected by further reductions in hours, staffing and/or services. Remaining facilities will be scaled back to the bare minimum or reorganized to operate at a lower cost by downgrading positions, shifting some jobs from full-time to part-time and introducing a new, para-professional job title that could perform certain tasks at less expense than other titles. A projected 100 full-time employees, nearly one-third of the full-time B&ECPL workforce, are subject to layoff as well as an undetermined amount of part-time employees.
Other cost saving and revenue generating measures will be implemented as well. For example, certain subject departments at the Central Library will be closed one day during the week, and as of October 1, 2005, fees have been instituted for requesting materials.
Every library that survives this unfortunate process must do much more with far less next year, stated B&ECPL Director Michael C. Mahaney. Whether you are a proponent of 52 libraries, 42 libraries or 32 libraries, the public cannot expect the quality or quantity of service it needs or deserves in 2006 due to the loss of funding from Erie County.
Sixteen locations will not be allocated funding in 2006. Locations (and their confirmed closing dates) include: North Cheektowaga (Nov.1st) and South Cheektowaga (Oct. 1st) , Greenhaven (Oct. 1st), Brighton (Nov. 1st) and Sheridan Parkside in Tonawanda, Williamsville, Blasdell (Nov. 30th), West Falls (Oct. 12th), Depew (Dec. 17th) and the Fronczak (Dec. 16th), Cazenovia (Nov. 18th), Fairfield (Oct. 14th), Kensington (Nov. 18th), Martin Luther King (Dec. 16th), Mead (Oct. 14th) and Northwest (Nov. 18th) Branches in the City of Buffalo. Please visit individual library pages for specific closing details as they become available.
The Board's Planning Committee charged staff to conduct an inventory of every public library location in Erie County to determine which have the greatest capacity to deliver the most in services and resources to the largest number of people. Using the results of this comprehensive appraisal, the Planning Committee began the process of identifying which libraries might remain open and which should close. The Committee weighed 19 individual factors. In addition to building size, condition and surrounding population density, the assessment considered geographic isolation, various activity levels, the economic circumstances of each service area and several other reliable measures. Geographic holes left when locations with limited capacity were plotted on a map were then addressed.
Libraries in Boston, Marilla, Alden and Eden were originally considered for closure. However, each of these municipalities expressed a commitment to identify supplemental funding to support its library at reduced open hours.
We are very appreciative of the numerous representatives of County, City, Town and Village governments and trustees of individual libraries that have approached the B&ECPL Board to consider creative and collaborative alternatives for the Library System, stated Pordum. During this difficult transition, it will be imperative that all involved parties work together to develop innovative solutions that address the needs of community members.
Effects of Reduced County Support
Erie County's financial support is the principal funding source for the B&ECPL. In 2004, County contributions comprised more than 85% of the Library's operating and materials budgets with the balance made up of State operating aid, which has remained relatively stagnant, as well as library fines, fees and related income.
As the chart below illustrates, combining a $21.7 million 2006 Library Tax levy with the loss of County Capital funding for Library materials, Erie County's 2006 support for B&ECPL operating and library materials would be pushed down to levels not seen since 1996-97. This funding level is $7 million and 24.5% less than the Library received in 2004. In fact, the funding level is $4.7 million and 17.9% LESS than the support provided in the year 2000, the last year B&ECPL's library materials budget was fully supported through the Property Tax for Library Purposes.
Learn more about how changes in County Support have affected:
Library Operations and Staffing
Library Materials Budget
View the B&ECPL Operating and Library Materials Budgets 1996-2006 -- Chart.
Library Operations and Staffing
With such a large loss of day-to-day funding support, B&ECPL has no choice but to implement the major restructuring and downsizing that is presented in the 2006 Proposed Budget.
As shown in the B&ECPL Full-Time Position History Information, in 1976, B&ECPL had 576 full-time employees. Thirty years later, in 2006, the full-time staff will be reduced by 62% to 218. Meanwhile, the Library System's performance measures (e.g., 2004 circulation) indicate that the Library System had doubled its productivity even as it introduced a host of new services (e.g., public access computing and web-based reference) during that same 30-year period.
This seems a clear indication that B&ECPL not only manages its resources well, but also approaches challenges with innovation and always keeps an eye on economy. Providing a wealth of resources, services and programs, B&ECPL has long represented a tremendous value for the investment of tax dollars. However, given the dire state of county finances, B&ECPL has no choice but change.
Change means further downsizing and living within a smaller operating budget. Change means saying good-bye to conscientious and talented staff who have made library work not only their livelihood but their life. Change means closing the doors of libraries that have introduced children to the wonder of reading, seniors to a tranquil haven that brings the world of information to them on their own terms, and adults to the skills they require to interview successfully for their next job, change the oil filter on their car, learn a second language or manage their personal finances.
As we proceed into the 21st century, there are fewer corner mailboxes and fewer corner stores than many of us remember from days past, fewer firehouses and police precincts, fewer public and parochial schools, and in 2006 there will be fewer public libraries.
This 2006 Budget, reducing funded libraries from 52 to 36 and scaling back funding at all remaining libraries, seeks to preserve that which offers the greatest capacity to deliver quality library resources and services to the largest number of Erie County residents within the limits of available funding.
Library Materials Budget
Erie County changed how funding for the Library materials budget (books, magazines, audio books, CDs, DVDs, electronic databases, etc.) was supported at the same time they reduced the Library property tax from $26.39 million in 2000 to $22.97 million in 2001. That year, the funding was shifted from the B&ECPL's operating budget to the County Capital Budget funded by tobacco settlement proceeds. This was also the case in 2002 and initially in 2003. Mid-year in 2003, a portion of the budget was shifted to bond funding. In 2004, $4.5 million of the total $4.7 million Library materials budget was funded through the Erie County Capital Budget as a "bonded project." In 2005's adopted budget, a total of $5 million for Library materials was included in the County Capital Budget as a bonded project. This funding has not been borrowed nor transmitted to the B&ECPL.
Since this funding is part of Erie County's Capital Budget, NOT the Library's budget, it is not subject to the provisions of the Library Protection Act. The Library Protection Act prevents the County from reducing Library Tax support once the property tax levy is approved in the budget. However, the County Executive may propose and the County Legislature may amend or approve a different amount (up or down) each year during the Erie County Budget process.
As the County's financial crisis has illustrated, the practice of issuing bonds to purchase Library materials is not an advisable long-term practice and one that the 2006 budget does not continue. This leaves a large hole in the Library funding picture, which is the main reason why existing service levels can not be maintained with the current $21.7 million Library property tax alone.
Addressing the Non-Receipt of 2005 Library Materials Funding
Anticipating the delays caused by this method of financing and the County's overall deteriorating fiscal health, the Library gradually decreased ordering as much as possible in 2004 to increase the amount of cash remaining at the end of the year in the hopes of providing at least minimal service into 2005 (including renewing print and online database subscriptions, many of which occur early in the year). Even with these steps, the Library had to scale back regular materials purchasing to the bare minimum, resulting in the lay-off of 10 processing department staff in January 2005. The continued delay in funding has already forced the Library to lay-off another eight full-time personnel as the 2004 balances were exhausted, and their workload was eliminated.
Without the $5 million in capital money for 2005, the Library has no funds left for materials purchases for the remainder of 2005. This forced the Library to implement even more extensive cuts than already experienced. At its August 4th meeting, the Library Board of Trustees approved a 20% reduction in fourth quarter operations for all libraries. These cuts are funding approximately $1 million in materials purchases for the remainder of the year in order for the Library to continue meeting its mission.
2006 Library Materials Budget Will Also Be Limited
The need to incorporate library materials purchases within the reduced Erie County support expected in 2006 is the major factor driving the restructuring taking place within the B&ECPL. As with any major restructuring, one-time downsizing costs, such as termination payments and unemployment insurance costs for laid off employees as well as asset disposition expense, will be incurred in late 2005 into the 2006 budget. This expense, estimated at $2 million, is therefore not available to support library materials purchases in 2006. To avoid having to close even more libraries in 2006, the amount carved out of the existing operating budget for 2006 library materials purchases is proposed at $1.99 million, $3 million LESS than the 2005 adopted (but not received) capital budget and only about half the amount needed to properly support the 36 remaining libraries funded in the 2006 proposed budget. In 2007, the portion of the 2006 operating budget carved out to cover one-time downsizing would be available to restore the 2007 library materials budget to approximately $4 million, a more adequate amount for a 36-library system. THIS IS DEPENDENT ON 2007 COUNTY SUPPORT NOT BEING FURTHER REDUCED AND LIMITING FUTURE HEALTH AND RETIREMENT EXPENSE GROWTH TO LEVELS THAT CAN BE SUPPORTED BY LOCAL ECONOMIC GROWTH.
2006 Funding Severely Strains Library's Ability to Serve the Community, Restoring Even a Portion of the $7 Million Reduction Urged
The $21.7 million County support in the proposed 2006 budget provides an exceedingly lean funding level in 2006, even for a reduced 36 library system. This drastically reduced support will inhibit the Library's ability to serve Erie County residents properly.
Restoring even a portion of the $7 million reduction would make a major difference. For example, a $2.0 to $2.1 million increase in operating revenue and/or issuing a portion of the 2005 $5 million adopted county capital budget allocation for library materials could be used to raise the proposed 2006 library materials budget from half the national average to the national average of 15% of operating expenditures. This would at least allow the public an adequate level of new books and other library materials to help offset the fact that they will be provided through a reduced number of library facilities open fewer total hours in 2006.
STRENGTHING THE REMAINING B&ECPL MUST BE A PRIORITY IF WE ARE TO PRESERVE A QUALITY, COST-EFFECTIVE LIBRARY SERVICE THAT OUR COMMUNITY DESERVES AND AN ENLIGTENED SOCIETY REQUIRES!.
Evaluating B&ECPL Facilities
In order to provide residents with maximum access to resources and services while constrained by Erie County's declining financial support, the B&ECPL must objectively evaluate all facilities within its System. In recent months, the B&ECPL embarked upon the most comprehensive survey to date of its outlets located throughout Erie County. Each facility was visited and a wealth of factual information was obtained. Building issues, such as foundation, mechanical, structural and grounds conditions, were examined as well as ADA compliance, transportation routes, available public space, parking and a host of other factors.
Click here to view a detailed inventory of each library...
Using the information collected through the facilities study as well as additional statistics, 19 separate criteria, covering geographic, facility, need based and activity indicators, were developed in order to compare B&ECPL locations. Each library was given a score from zero to five for each criteria.
Click here to view the criteria with library rankings...
The 19 criteria were each assigned weights based on their relative importance. Finally, a total weighted score was calculated for every library with the maximum possible score being 525.
Click here to view the ranked list of libraries by total weighted score...
(This PDF document also includes the breakout of how each library scored on the individual 19 criteria, 2005 operating budget figures and the amount to be cut for each library's 2005 fourth quarter expenses.)
Libraries falling below or near the 300 score threshold were plotted on a map. It became clear almost immediately that there were geographic gaps in the service network. In a few areas, libraries of limited capacity happened to be clustered together. To close all of them would leave substantial areas without access to library service.
At the B&ECPL Board of Trustees Planning Committee's request, revisions were made. Some libraries identified for potential closing were recommended for restoration; others were reconsidered for closing. Many patrons and public officials expressed concern that large areas of rural Erie County , where a single small library serves an entire 40-square-mile municipality, deserve to retain some semblance of service -- even if the County Library System cannot provide the level of financial support it has in years past. Over recent weeks, numerous representatives of County, City, Town and Village governments and trustees of individual libraries requested meetings with B&ECPL trustees and staff to discuss their individual circumstances and to consider creative and collaborative alternatives. Some have committed additional local funds providing the System can supply enough revenue to give them a fighting chance to keep their library open. Modest concessions to some contract libraries might enable them to remain open if local dollars are identified to offset System losses.