The E.C. Scranton Memorial Library final budget number for fiscal year 2018-’19 has become a point of heated discussion among boards in town. Questions have been raised as to how much the library should expect in an operating budget when it moves to a temporary location and, after arguments and counter-proposals, on Feb. 26, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) voted 3-2 along party lines to stick with the $300,000 cut to the library operating budget.

Over the past 20 years, the town has covered anywhere from 84- to 88 percent of the library operating budget. This year the library asked for $1,248,481 from the town, a one-percent decrease from the current fiscal year.

The original library budget proposal includes keeping all 11 full-time and 8 part-time employees. Library Director Beth Crowley said she did make reductions in the budget to account for fewer materials, lower operating costs, and other items in this budget proposal. While there might be fewer materials in the temporary space, Crowley said the library is planning to reach out to other town departments and locations to maintain services, something for which she says she needs her full staff.

However, with the library set to move to a smaller, temporary location for construction starting sometime this year, the town put forward a $300,000 reduction to the proposed library operating budget. The library balked at the cut and came back to the BOS with a roughly $100,000 total reduction.

With the $100,000 reduction, Crowley said she can retain about 67.5 hours of service a week, keep 85 percent of programs running, and not have to lay off staff, but would freeze hiring for three vacant positions and eliminate funding for staff development.

Under a $300,000 reduction, Crowley said she would have to reduce operating hours by 30 percent, reduce monthly programs by about 54 percent, freeze hiring, lay off five employees, and increase insurance premium payments for current employees. Crowley said the library can’t take that big of a cut— a nearly 24 percent reduction from the current fiscal year—and still maintain services when it is in a temporary location for the next 12 to 18 months during construction.

“I don’t believe the library should have to shoulder this big of the cut for the town,” she said. “My position is I present you a budget for what I need to provide library services for our residents. The library has to make those tough decisions about how much they can support of that. This is the largest cut we have ever had in the history of the library service and I just don’t think its fair to take it all out of the library or to take the bulk of it out of the library.”

At the meeting on Feb. 26, tensions were high among selectmen as they debated the $300,000 cut. First Selectman Tom Banisch (R) said this number is fair.

“What we are doing is we are sitting here on Feb. 26, which is our deadline for putting this proposal together, and we are saying with all that we know, this is what I am comfortable doing,” he said. “This is what’s fair to the people of Madison and this is what’s fair to the library. Everybody is facing cuts this year.”

Selectman Scott Murphy (D) continually referred to the $300,000 as an arbitrary amount in his opposition to the cut.

Banisch said the number is not arbitrary and came from the salary line for part-time employees. The budget was crafted with the assumption that the library would not need its full staff while in the temporary space due to the small size of the building.

“I have total respect for what you guys are saying, but at the end of the day I have not heard, other than it is part-time employees [being cut], a solid justification,” Murphy said. “I mean you guys are asking them for a plan; I would ask you guys for a plan as well as to what do you think that $300,000 should encompass because I don’t think we are giving them much direction, help, support, or collaboration to define that together.”

Members of the library board told Banisch in the meeting that it sounds like he is instructing the library to lay off its employees. Banisch said that is not the case and that the library has the authority to make up that cut in its budget however it sees fit.

Library Board of Trustees President Beth Coyne said she understands Banisch’s point, but what the library will have to do to find the money. She said she was displeased to hear the town sees keeping the library budget whole as wasting taxpayer money and said the library has always been very clear that it plans to maintain services during construction.

“I just think whatever it is you have to do this year, I feel we have been disrespected in this process,” she said. “I am not taking it personally, but I just think you are in a tough position as a board leading our town and the money has to come from somewhere and I cannot help but feel at the end of the day that this is the easy place because of the fact we are moving and that this is just an easy place to find $300,000 because you are going to make an assumption that we are not going to need as many people.”

Seeking Details

Selectmen pointed out that since the temporary library space, located on the Madison Earth Care property near the Route 80/Route 79 circle, is only 3,600 square feet, it’s unlikely the library could maintain full service. While library officials said they plan to use other locations in town to hold programs, Selectman Bruce Wilson (R) said there is no guarantee program attendance would remain level during construction and he was not pleased with what he perceived as lack of a plan from the library.

“This is where we are going to program, this is who is going to program, and these are the programs we are going to be doing, etc.,” he said. “I am actually a little surprised that you don’t have that more locked down, especially since when the referendum went through, the original plan was you guys moving much earlier. We are talking about not having the plans yet, but the whole process has been pushed out. If the project hadn’t gone left on you suddenly, you would have been forced to make all of these decisions.”

Crowley said that plan was her next step, but she couldn’t get started without having secured a temporary space.

“Without the money, there’s not going to be a lot of need to do that so that programming will be reduced quite significantly for the patrons,” she said. “And our hours—we will not be open hours that are conducive to people who work or for students on the weekends or much time to come after school.”

Attempting to find a compromise, Selectman Al Goldberg (D) asked if the library could stay with the $100,000 cut this year and if for some reason program attendance drops, the library would then have to return the excess program funds back to the town. Some pointed out that residents would still have to be taxed this year for that money and there is no mechanism for the library to return funds, but Goldberg said he trusts a process could be worked out.

“I would rather build this on trust and understanding and the credibility that has been developed over 100 years,” he said. “These folks are our friends and neighbors. They are not our adversaries.”

Banisch said there is nothing personal about this cut and he is not trying to be the bad guy.

“Al, that’s a great speech, but that’s not the point,” he said. “The point is they are not operating in the place where they normally do all of the great stuff they do and have done for 100 years. They are not going to be there. They are not going to have that facility to do those things and we are betting $300,000 that they can still make it work? I’m sorry, but is it worth risking the taxpayers money when we are looking for pennies anywhere we can find them?”

Ultimately the BOS voted 3-2 to maintain the $300,000 cut. With the total town and schools budget now approved by the BOS, the budget now moves to the Board of Finance (BOF).

What Happens Now?

As pointed out by Banisch, the BOF does have the power to restore funds to the budget if it disagrees with the decision of the BOS. While it is not common for the BOF to return funds to the budget, Crowley said she plans to keep talking with the BOF to try to restore the funding before the BOF has to approve the budget at the end of April.

“We would be happy if they would accept the revised budget that we put in, if they would restore the $200,000 that the BOS cut,” she said. “We can operate at that, we can survive at that. That was our compromise…These are not cuts I wanted to make and we are going to be missing a few things that I would have liked to have, but we can retain library services to the residents, which is the most important thing, with that cut.”