North Merrick Library Board Set to Approve $2.1 Million Budget

The North Merrick Library Board of Trustees is expected to approve a budget of $2.1 million for the next fiscal year, a 1.4 percent drop from this year's budget, although the library tax levy would remain unchanged.  

The board met to hammer out the final details of the budget Tuesday night as trustees debated how much room there was to trim budget fat.  

"We are not spending what we are writing down," trustee George Brucia said. "We're doing very well, but what we are writing down as the cost of doing that job really well is more than it actually costs."  

The library has underspent its current budget by $170,000 through the first six months of the fiscal year and projections show that about $287,514 will be leftover on June 30, according to board president William Pezzulo. 

But Pezzulo said that $141,000 was needed for the library's fund balance and when combined with declining bank interest rates, he wasn't so convinced that much could be cut from the budget.  

"How close do we bring the budget down to the tax rate before we start dipping into our savings?" Pezzulo asked. "We've culled this budget down quite a bit in the past five years."

As it stands, the budget will drop $31,170 as the board removed several items from the operating budget that will now be treated as capital projects, including a curbside light to illuminate the library sign, a bi-level water fountain and replacing the library's phone system. 

Trustee Mark Davis said he was hesitant to support many budget cuts since the board recently gave library director Tom Witt a directive to spend more after Witt informed the board that in recent years the library staff had been scared to make purchases.  

"It will be to our disadvantage to try to cut this budget," Davis said, noting that Witt has only been director since last June.  "We're building a new culture.  Let the director come to a full cycle first…this conversation is a year away."

The board is expected to give final approval to the budget at its meeting on March 16 at 7:30 p.m. No public vote will be held as it is not required when the budget is not set to increase.