Pottstown council questions why townships not paying full library bills
POTTSTOWN — Borough council members wondered aloud Wednesday night why surrounding townships are not funding the Pottstown Regional Public Library at the level recommended by the state, while the borough provides twice the recommended funding.
The Pottstown Regional Public Library recently announced plans to reduce its hours by eight hours week due to a, $81,000 budget deficit, caused in large part by the failure of Upper Pottsgrove and West Pottsgrove townships to contribute the full amount recommended by the state, which is $5 per person.
The library serves as the official library of the Pottstown and Pottsgrove school districts, but of the three townships, only Lower Pottsgrove pays the full amount recommended by the state, which is $5 per person, according to Angela Brown, the executive director of the library.
Pottstown, on the other hand, levies a specific library tax and recently raised the millage, generating $212,199 for the library, which is more than $95,000 above the state recommendation. "Pottstown is definitely punching above its weight class," said Borough Manager Justin Keller.
"Are we footing the bill for other townships not chipping in?" Councilman Andrew Monastra asked during Wednesday night's council meeting at which the borough's 2025 budget was under review. "So their residents still benefit from using the library, but its our residents who are being burdened with paying for it?"
While Lower Pottsgrove Township contributes the full amount recommend by the state, West Pottsgrove contributes only $10,000, which is $8,000 less than the state recommends based on its population. Upper Pottsgrove, which should be chipping in $31,000 per year, has made no contribution at all for at least the last three years.
Last month, Brown appeared before the Upper Pottsgrove Township commissioners to plead for them to include library funding in their 2025 budget. She said 7 percent of the library's patrons are Upper Pottsgrove residents.
So far in 2024, she said, Upper Pottsgrove Township residents have accessed the library 5,583 times. She received no public response from the commissioners.
Upper Pottsgrove Commissioners discussed their draft budget Wednesday night as well, a budget likely to raise taxes for the first time since 2009, but no mention was made of including a contribution to the library.
"If they paid their fair share, would our burden be less? Monastra asked.
Library board treasurer Rich Bouher, who was in the audience, said that's not the way it works and said the library appreciates all Pottstown does to support the library.
"Maybe we should make a field trip to the other townships to discuss this," Mayor Stephanie Henrick suggested. "I'd be down for that," said Monastra. "You know how friendly I am."
