Library directors see growing cost of health benefits, eBooks and audits
With locked doors came disappointment from patrons used to longer hours at the Amelia Givin Free Library in Mount Holly Springs.
"We've already made some cuts the past couple years that have been rather painful," Director Cynthia Thompson said last week. "We eliminated teen programming. We cut back on adult programming. We have put off building repair and maintenance."
Year after year, cycle after cycle, the gap widens between revenue and expenditure. The library is heading into 2025 with a projected $18,000 deficit to deliver services to a population already maxed out in its ability to donate money to help bridge shortfalls.
"Our budget is bare bones," Thompson said. "We've done everything we can to trim things. Libraries can be a place for people to gather and learn, but we are not able to do as much as we used to."
Similar conditions exist elsewhere in the Cumberland County Library System.
"We are treading water to see what happens with this tax millage increase request," said Jeff Swope, executive director of the Bosler Memorial Library in Carlisle. "I have a pretty good idea of what we're going to do if we don't get an increase. We would have to diminish our hours, our services. Bosler is at the edge. What happens next will truly determine the path Bosler will have to turn next."
County commissioners have yet to act on a request by the system to increase the county library tax from the current 0.166 mills to a minimum of 0.249 mills. That increase would cost the average taxpayer an additional $17 a year at a time when the commissioners are also weighing a proposed 4% tax increase to support the county general fund budget for 2025.
Under the current timeline, commissioners could vote as early as Dec. 11 to adopt that budget with the 4% hike, which alone comes out to $22.42 more for the average taxpayer. With the budget adoption, the commissioners would be obliged to consider an ordinance to set the millage rate for both the general fund and the library tax.
On Nov. 6, system executive director Carolyn Blatchley briefed the commissioners on fiscal challenges that together have increased expenses on member libraries by 29% since 2017 – the last time a funding increase was approved for the county's public libraries.
County health care benefits were cut to member libraries in 2018, Blatchley said. The aftermath was complicated by the inability of the libraries to do group purchases. As a result, one member library is paying 171% more to cover fewer employees while at least two libraries can only afford to provide health insurance to their directors.
The cost of audits has become so high that some libraries have been unable to find an affordable professional to meet the legal requirement under the state library code, Blatchley said.
Unlike print volumes, eBooks are more expensive because each license to use ends after so many circulations, resulting in cost increases every time a library must renew public access, Swope said. To qualify for state funding, libraries are mandated to allocate 12% of their annual revenue toward the acquisition and maintenance of material in their collections, he said.
Like eBooks, the costs of magazine and newspaper subscriptions are going up, said Sue Erdman, director of the Joseph T. Simpson Public Library in Mechanicsburg. "Back in February, our inter-library loan service was impacted for funding reasons. We are only able to get materials for patrons from other libraries within Pennsylvania. If it is not located in Pennsylvania, we cannot get that material because of the shipping costs.
"We have an aging HVAC system that we feel is on its last legs," Erdman said. "We haven't been able to get that replaced yet. Hopefully, we will be able to do that before it dies."
During a finance meeting last week, commissioners discussed the merits of a library tax hike. While Jean Foschi supported a millage increase of up to 0.332, Kelly Neiderer and Gary Eichelberger were hesitant to commit to anything until they receive answers to follow-up questions they have on the state of library system finances.
"I have been the liaison to the library system for five years," Foschi said. "I have working knowledge. The county has taken some things from the system and there has been no viable replacement for them. Member libraries are paying a tremendous amount for health care that the county used to cover. When the county self-insured, the library system was left in a lurch to fend for itself."
A similar situation took place when the county switched its computer network platform, leaving the library system to find an alternative, Foschi said, directing her comments to Blatchley. "I'm very concerned we are going to leave you in the lurch again, and you will not be able to provide services. I don't think you could get through next year with what you have right now."
Her suggestion to double the library tax from 0.166 mills to 0.332 mills faced opposition from fellow commissioners.
"I'm not prepared to take an action at that level at all," Neiderer said. "I appreciate the county has pulled some things away. We have not done things to help find replacements. I'm not confident that I have the answers I need. We are trying to determine what is the right amount and we don't have adequate information to do that. It feels to me like putting the cart before the horse."
While capital improvements tied to building repair and maintenance have been mentioned, there have been no capital plans submitted to map out the scope and timing of the work, she said.
Of the three commissioners, Eichelberger has the most experience with 21 years in office. He said that, historically, the county has tried to avoid a library tax increase the same year as either a general fund tax increase or a countywide reassessment.
"Normally, we have been able to address these issues in isolation," Eichelberger said to Blatchley. "But there is a whole host of challenges on the table right now. I'm not worried about how uncomfortable this is going to make me feel. I am worried about how uncomfortable it is going to make a lot of citizens feel. I agree with Commissioner Foschi that you can't get by with nothing. We need to figure what do you need and how you need it for a longer-term solution."
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