2021 Budget
2021 Mid-Year Budget Hearing before members of the Erie County Legislature’s Finance and Management Committee
Tuesday, July 13, 2021. Briefing to members of the Erie County Legislature by Library System Interim Director Jeannine Doyle and Library System Chief Financial Officer Kenneth Stone on the Library’s mid-year budget status.
2021 Mid-Year Budget Hearing Statement (Click here)
2021 Library Operating Budget Financials for Mid-Year Legislative Budget Hearing (Click here)
2021 Adopted Budget Information
On December 17, 2020, the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library Board of Trustees adopted the Library’s 2021 Budget. Previously, on December 3rd, the Erie County Legislature adopted a 2021 County Budget with amendments. The Legislature supported the Library’s allocation and while they approved amendments in other parts of the County Budget, none changed the County Executive’s 2021 Budget allocation for the Library.
The 2021 Operating and Grants Budget sustains library operations and services. Further, it incorporates the impacts of contractually obligated costs related to current labor agreements as well as those approved for unrepresented and managerial/confidential employees via previous Board Resolutions. Current agreements provide for modest wage adjustments as well as employee contributions towards the cost of health care and provisions limiting the employer share of both active and retiree health care costs over the longer term. In adopting this budget, the Library Board changes the use of fund balance, increasing it by $508,183, to partially offset the reduction in personnel services account, applying savings achieved in 2020 that fall to Library fund balance. With this change, the Library’s overall operating budget, including State Aid and library revenue, increases 0.4% from 2020’s $29,230,087 to $29,345,916 in 2021. Including grants, which are estimated to decrease by 12.3%, the combined total increase falls to 0.1% from 2020’s $29,921,887 to $29,952,425 in 2021.
While not part of the Library’s operating budget, the County’s Capital Budget provides: $1,000,000 in County funding towards a $1.3 million project for Central Library Escalator Demolition Space Renovations and Asbestos Abatement and $140,000 for a Flexible Use Bookmobile/Outreach Vehicle.
For more information about the Library’s 2021 Budget please see:
2021 B&ECPL Adopted Budget Document (Click Here)
2021 B&ECPL Adopted Budget by Cost Center (Click Here)
2021 Proposed Budget – 11/17/2020 Budget Hearing
On Tuesday November 17, 2020, B&ECPL Board Chair Kathleen Berens Bucki, Library Director Mary Jean Jakubowski and Chief Financial Officer Ken Stone presented an overview of the Library’s 2021 budget request to the Erie County Legislature’s Finance & Management/Budget Committee and answered legislators’ questions.
2021 B&ECPL Proposed Budget Charts and Graphs (Click Here)
2021 B&ECPL Proposed Budget Line Item Detail (Click Here)
2021 Proposed Budget
On Thursday October 15, 2020 Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz released his 2021 Proposed Budget.
The Library appreciates Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz’s support in recommending a county funding increase of $508,183 (2.0%) to libraries in his 2021 Proposed Budget through funds generated by growth in the equalized full value property tax base. As the tax base is reported to have grown by 9%, the Library Tax Rate per $1,000 will decline. The additional funding will help offset increased contractually obligated costs while limiting reliance on use of fund balance and higher turnover savings targets. We sincerely hope that the full Legislature will approve the County Executive’s proposal and appreciate their past support.
County funding of $25,917,341, combined with funding from New York State of $1,973,916 in operating aid, use of $373,317 in Library fund balance, and $573,159 in other library revenue, brings the Library’s 2021 proposed operating budget to $28,837,733; a 1.3% decrease over the 2020 Adopted Budget. In addition to the operating budget, $606,509 in estimated state aid is included in the Library Grants Budget.
Erie County’s 2021 Proposed Capital Budget will support improvements to the county owned downtown Central Library and to system related improvements, specifically:
$1,000,000 in County funding towards a $1.3 million project for Central Library Escalator Demolition Space Renovations and Asbestos Abatement; and
$140,000 for a Flexible Use Bookmobile/Outreach Vehicle.
We believe the County Executive’s budget is a vote of confidence for the work the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library is doing on behalf of the community during these trying times. The Library is committed to providing access to quality resources and information in a variety of formats and technologies to meet its mission: Connecting our diverse community with library resources that enrich, enlighten and entertain.
The next event in the budget review process will be the Library’s budget hearing before the Erie County Legislature’s Finance & Management/Budget Committee, scheduled to begin at 11:00am on November 17th in the Erie County Legislature’s chambers on the fourth floor of Old County Hall (92 Franklin St., Buffalo, NY). The Legislature will also conduct a public hearing on the proposed budget on Monday November 23rd starting at 6:00pm in the same location. During this process the Legislature could consider and adopt amendments to the proposed budget. The Legislature is scheduled to vote on the budget including any approved amendments, at their meeting on December 3rd.
Information on the proposed budget may be found in the links below. This page will be updated as the budget process moves forward.
2021 Proposed Budget Information
Erie County Proposed Budget Document Excerpts - Library Operating, Grants & Capital (Click Here)