Great Neck Library adopted a $9,766,026 budget on Wednesday, which will be subjected to voter approval on May 16.
This budget, up $138,026 and 1.43% from last year’s $9,628,000 one, comes in wake of the completion of renovations of the Main Library building, which had been closed from late 2014 to October 2016.
Total salaries increased $383,200, administrative expenses rose $91,084 and employee benefits and taxes went up $170,820. These increases can be attributed to rising insurance costs and having more people working again.
“With the new budget, it’s more true to all four branches and the main library,” said Steven Kashkin, business manager for Great Neck Public Library.
“Everything else is pretty much the same,” Kashin added.
The budget also hints at a shift in the library’s priorities, with the library investing 50 percent more in e-books and e-audiobooks than last year. Less money also went towards reference books.
“I think you can get a better bang for your buck for online materials. We’re living in a technological age and lot more information is coming through the web,” Kashkin said. “We wanted to keep up with the times, so to speak.”
The budget says tax revenues make up 98.8 percent of the library’s revenue. However Kashkin noted that the PILOT payment, which amounts to 1.7 pervent of revenue, does not come from the average taxpayer. The rest comes from miscellaneous library operations.
“I think it’s a budget the town should be very proud of,” Kashkin said. He then added he hopes people will view it the same way and approve it.
The full budget proposal can be found here.
