Voters get last word on library budget Saturday

Voting on the proposed $614,327 budget for the Shelter Island Public Library takes place Saturday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Voters will be looking at a proposition calling for $540,436 in tax money to support the overall spending plan. The balance of the money comes from contributions and fund raising, grants, fines and fees and interest income.

The library’s planned spending for 2014 results in a 6 percent tax increase that would pierce the 2 percent cap on the tax levy imposed by New York State. The Board of Trustees voted 13-0 to allow the cap to be pierced. It would cost taxpayers with property assessed at $640,000 about $6.25 more next year, bringing their total bill to support the library to $100.86. Overall projected spending for 2014 would be $36,636 more than the current year’s budget of $577,691.

What Library Director Denise DiPaolo and Library Board Treasurer William Martens want people to know is how much more in services and materials they are getting for their money than they were receiving just five years ago.

The library offered no Wi-fi service and there were no e-book downloads available in 2008. There were 10,000 fewer patrons visiting the library then and 41,000 books were checked out while this year’s figures show 70,546 checkouts. Today, 6,690 people use library computers while five years ago, that number was at 2,100. And the total number of programs offered by the library were at 220 then and today they total 684.

The library is the only tax-supported entity on Shelter Island that must do fund raising to cover operating expenses, including salaries, Mr. Martens said. And while libraries once supplied books, magazines and newspapers, today’s library provides many more materials, Ms. DiPaolo said. The budget to books and other materials is projected to rise by $9,200 from current spending of $48,150. It’s thanks to sharing among Suffolk Country libraries that costs for such materials are able to be managed, Ms. DiPaolo said. Inter-library loans will be available Saturdays to benefit weekenders, Ms. DiPaolo said.

The library is also expanding its hours, opening at 9:30 instead of 10 a.m.

Much of the increase in spending results from expenses the trustees and library staff can’t control such as health insurance, fuel oil and insurance, Ms. DiPaolo said. There are small increases projected for library staff salaries and benefits. That amounts to $9,739 more than it has cost this year and covers three full-time staffers and seven part-timers.

Other increases include utilities, telecommunications and building maintenance that are up by $1,799 and property and liability insurance up from $12,200 to $13,999.