Library budget would pierce cap

The North Merrick Public Library is seeking a 3.54 percent tax-levy increase next year — more than double a tax-levy cap the state set.

Library Director Tom Witt said that piercing the state’s cap of 1.62 percent is necessary for the library to “provide the same standards of services.”

“The [Library Board of Trustees] has carefully worked this budget to today’s reality of what it costs to provide these services,” Witt said.

He also pointed out that the library has a small budget compared to other local municipalities. The library’s proposed tax levy of $2.45 million exceeds the cap by just $45,000. Witt said that the average North Merrick household’s taxes will increase $13 if voters approve the 2015-16 budget.

Last year, North Merrick voters passed a library budget that surpassed the state’s tax-levy cap by a factor of more than seven. The library’s recent cap-busting moves came in the wake of three consecutive years in which it held taxes flat, starting in 2009, according to Witt. He said the library used leftover capital project funds to balance the budget those years, a practice that was not sustainable. The library has significantly reduced its use of such funds to cover costs, though $31,000 remains in the 2015-16 budget.

The budget would increase spending 2.11 percent, mostly on employee costs and also on service contracts, utilities and elections. It would cut funding for library materials and electronic resources as well as operating expenses including building repairs and equipment.

More information will be available at the board’s budget hearing at 7:30 p.m. on April 14 at the library. There will be in-person voter registration from 4 to 8 p.m. on April 15, and the budget vote and trustee election will take place from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on April 22, also at the library. Incumbent Barbara Behrens is running unopposed.