Jamesburg library's future uncertain
Officials feel pinch of state laws on library spending, budget cap
BY BRIAN DONAHUE
Staff Writer

JEFF GRANIT staff Craig Lechocky checks out books for an elderly neighbor Tuesday at the Jamesburg Public Library. Volunteer Carole Hetzell, who has been helping at the library for seven years, does the processing.

A combination of state laws has left Jamesburg in a tight budget spot, and the end result could be the loss of the town library.

Borough officials are considering asking voters' permission to shut down the Jamesburg Public Library, Gatzmer Avenue, largely because state law forces the borough to increase funding for the library each year, and starting next year, the state will impose a 4 percent cap on municipal spending increases. The cap, approved by Gov. Jon Corzine, will be difficult to meet, since Jamesburg's municipal budget has little in the way of discretionary spending, according to Borough Councilman Otto Kostbar.

"It's really a brutal situation," he said.

Jamesburg officials are asking the public to help them determine how to proceed. The council will discuss the budget and take public input during a meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday at borough hall.

JEFF GRANIT staff

The borough funds the library operation based on a state formula that is based on the town's overall assessed value each year, plus 15 percent over the prior year's library appropriation. This means an ever-increasing amount of money for the library, which this year is operating on $170,000 in municipal funds.

"At a time when we're holding everything else flat, we can't afford the 15 percent increases for the library," Kostbar said. "There's also a question of whether the library needs all that money to operate."

Kostbar would like to see the library function like all other borough departments, where each proposes an annual budget based on its needs, and that number is subject to council approval. But state law "blocks us at every turn," Kostbar said. For example, on Monday he researched whether the borough could make up some of the library money by charging the facility rent, but that is not permitted by law.

Katie Raynor looks over some books at the Jamesburg Public Library Tuesday. The Borough Council is considering holding a referendum to ask voters' permission to close down the library for budgetary reasons.

"There are many, many hidden laws in this state, which is one of the reasons New Jersey is in the fiscal crisis that it's in," Kostbar said. "We're charged with trying to hold taxes down, but we're bound by all these rules."

Over the years, when Jamesburg officials called upon state legislators to address the library spending issue, nobody has listened, he said.

"When the big increases started hitting us, we asked for help, but we have not been able to get any legislator to become interested," Kostbar said.

As a result, the municipality may have to cease its operation of the library, though doing so would require approval from borough voters in a referendum, much like the one voters approved in 1981 to make the library a municipal department.

The idea of closing the library does not sit well with Kostbar, who uses it regularly and has seven books out at the moment.

And Library Director Cindy Yasher certainly does not think it's a good idea.

Yasher and others are hoping the townspeople rally behind the library and show their support at next week's council meeting, much like they did 10 years ago, when a proposal by the governing body to close the library was met with heavy opposition.

If a referendum is held and residents vote to cease municipal spending on the library, it is unlikely that the library will survive, Yasher said. There may be options, such as becoming an "association library" that operates on fundraising, or having the library become a branch of Monroe Township's library. That would require referendum approval from voters of both towns. Both scenarios are unlikely to come to fruition, Yasher said.

"If the referendum goes up and they vote to close it, I'm afraid we really will be closed," she said.

The library, founded in 1930, was an "association library" until 1981, but today's library is far superior, with some 26,822 volumes of books, CDs, audio books, DVDs and periodicals, and many well-attended activities and programs.

"We're so much bigger now. We have more services, the staff is bigger," Yasher said. "[As an association library] we wouldn't be able to provide the services that people have come to expect, and that would make us much less effective."

The library currently has one full-time director, six part-time employees and five volunteers. Its most popular program is its summer reading program for children in first through sixth grade. Also well attended is the summer reading enrichment program, run on a volunteer basis by elementary school teachers.

"Other libraries charge for enrichment programs," Yasher said. "Ours is free."

Other programs include story hour for preschoolers and "Movie Mania."

Perhaps the library's greatest asset, however, is its location downtown, where it is convenient for people to get to on foot. Yasher said many residents - children and senior citizens in particular - walk to the library regularly. If the library closes, Jamesburg residents would still be able to purchase a $50 membership and be able to use most other county libraries, including Monroe's, but they would not be able to walk there, Yasher noted.

The $50 membership allows use of any library in Middlesex County except for East Brunswick and Woodbridge, but in Jamesburg, that's a higher price than residents currently pay for their library. In 2005, the borough spent $22.69 per capita for the library, whereas the county average was $47.81, according to Yasher.

"That's a huge difference, and it's amazing the services we offer on such a limited budget," she said.

Budget options limited

When it comes to the municipal budget, the 4 percent cap on spending looms for 2008, and that year's library increase will be eating into the cap along with the usual increases in budgetary costs, ranging from fuel to salaries and benefits.

Kostbar said Jamesburg's budget has four areas that could be considered discretionary, as opposed to those that are fixed. The discretionary areas are the police department, public works, garbage pickup and the library. None, he said, is a desirable cut.

As it stands, the police force will operate from August through December down one officer, because the town cannot afford to replace the retiring police chief with a new patrolman. And, as Kostbar noted, "Public safety is vital to the town." Public works "barely make it by" with its four staff members and their many responsibilities, he said. And it does not make sense to cut garbage pickup, partly because it would cost residents more if they were forced to hire a private hauler, he said.

"The fourth option is to cut the library, but state law only allows us to eliminate it completely," Kostbar said, noting that the dilemma being faced now in Jamesburg will soon hit other towns. Jamesburg is feeling the pinch sooner because of its small tax ratable base.

All the budget issues will be on the table for Wednesday night's meeting. But if the town cannot find a way to fund the library and meet the 4 percent spending cap, a referendum may be in the works for this fall. If that occurs, at least the residents will have the final say.

"The bottom line is, it's a democracy," Kostbar said. "People get to vote."