Library’s ‘austere’ $19.4M budget takes effect

The Springfield-Greene County Library District’s 2017-18 budget of $19.4 million is scheduled to take effect tomorrow.

The newest budget is about 3.3 percent lower than the 2016-17 figure of $20 million, according to data provided by library Community Relations Director Kathleen O'Dell.

“The library's budget this year will be pretty austere,” Executive Director Regina Cooper said in a news release. “Expenses are increasing at a higher rate than revenue, especially personnel costs and technology costs. State aid to libraries has been cut.

“We will continue to seek out grants to fund projects and will rely on the Friends of the Library and the Library Foundation to provide additional monies for some programs and services.”

Roughly 33 percent, or $5 million, of the $19.4 million budget is set aside to cover July through December 2018 expenses as the majority of the library’s budget rolls in, O'Dell said, noting $6 million was used from the 2016-17 budget for that purpose.

“The reason is that the bulk of this year's fiscal year revenue — projected to be 91.7 percent of our revenue this year — comes from Greene County property tax, and those tax bills don't go out to taxpayers until December 2017,” O'Dell said via email. “Many people pay their tax bill then, but the bulk of that expected revenue comes in January 2018. So, we are operating on tax money that was paid a whole year earlier.”

Highlights of the 2017-18 budget include:
    •    $107,662 more to purchase books and other materials, bringing the total to $2.2 million;
    •    staff raises; and
    •    an expected drop in library fines to $221,500, a $16,500 decrease.

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