The Great Neck Library Board of Trustees presented a second draft budget at Thursday night’s meeting that painted a brighter picture than the first.
While the first budget projected nearly $50,000 in deficits, the new draft includes a $3,000 surplus following corrections of line items and the rejection of some proposed expenses.
The draft includes a 1.97 percent tax levy increase, which falls within the state-mandated tax cap.
But due to decreases in operating revenue, including a projected $25,000 cut in fines collected, the $8.532 million budget is 1.4 percent larger than the 2013 budget.
“The library maintains adequate assets in reserve to ensure that it is always on good financial footing,” wrote business manager Neil Zitofsky in an e-mail.
One of the major changes from the first draft budget, introduced on March 5, is the division of a planned full-time staffing position into two part-time positions. The change is projected to save $18,900 in benefits that would have been due to a full-time employee and his or her family.
“The decision not to create the full-time Reference position was two-fold – (a) the personnel committee has yet to determine that the 17.5 hours/week reduction (that occurred when the previous FT librarian requested a cut to 1/2 time) requires reinstatement for the adequate functioning of the Library, and (b) if the hours are required, they do not necessarily need to be done by a full-timer – a part-timer would suffice and the cost of health benefits could be saved. This budget provides funding for (b) above,” wrote Zitofsky.
The board had also received a request to increase funding for the acquisition of electronic databases, which was stripped from the new draft budget. That change cut projected expenses by $15,000.
“As to the Electronic Databases, before the request for the increase was cut, [Zitofsky] conferred with the Acting Head of Reference, and they determined that the increase to the e-books budget will give Reference the flexibility it needs and that the increase to databases is no longer required,” Zitofsky wrote.
The budget also accounts for costs that were miscounted in the first draft, leaving a real deficit of about $34,000 that the new balanced budget eliminates .
Among the costs driving the budget increase are mandated benefits for employees and planned fee hikes by the Nassau Library System, the consortium which provides library services and database access for Great Neck.
Zitofsky said savings from existing vacancies and a hiring freeze went to fund the state pension increases.
The budget projects a $47,100, or 7.9 percent, jump in employee health-insurance spending.
And payments to the Nassau Library System are expected increase by $40,000.
The library board is currently contesting the increase, which it says unfairly targets Great Neck by basing fees on operating budget instead of services received from the consortium.
“That is an ongoing issue. We’re working it on it,” said library President Marietta DiCamillo at the March 5 meeting.
The salaries budgeted in the draft could change, due to ongoing contract negotiations with staff. The amounts described in the draft budget are based on the current offer from the board to the staff association, according to Zitofsky.
