Library Faces Big Shortfall System Must Deal With Rising Costs Of Materials, Utilities And Wages
The Spokane Public Library is looking at a budget shortfall that could approach $650,000, and unless it gets relief from the cash-strapped city, there could be serious cuts in library hours next year.
The library, which has already trimmed the hours at its downtown branch due to last year’s cutbacks, is faced with escalating costs of materials, utilities and wages, said business manager Steve Shagina.
At the same time, its primary source of revenue, a contribution from the city’s general fund, is expected to remain at last year’s level.
“We are getting no increase in the general fund transfer,” Shagina said. “While the rest of the world is going up, we’re flat.”
The library is just one of many city departments facing budget shortages, said City Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers, who is council liaison to the library. As a result, it shouldn’t expect any funding increases, she said.
“Right now, I don’t see how,” Rodgers said. “Our unappropriated reserves are at an all-time low. It’s going to be a very lean year for the budget.”
City Budget Director Collette Greenwood said she is proceeding with a library budget with no increases. That could change if the council so desires, she said.
Next year’s library expenditures are expected to be $7.8 million, while revenues are estimated at $6.9 million. Adding in a carryover from this year’s budget estimated at $350,000 to $500,000, the library is facing a shortfall of $500,000 to $650,000, said Shagina. And that doesn’t include the approximately $250,000 it would take to restore the hours cut at the downtown branch.
The library board has not yet identified what to cut, Shagina said. But with the majority of expenses related to labor, cuts in hours are likely.
“With 75 percent of (the budget) personnel-related, it’s a tough situation to be in,” he said.
The library board will make the decision on what to cut, if necessary, after it makes its budget presentation to the City Council in late October or early November, said library board member Diann Brown.
“The staff is already looking at the worst-case scenarios,” Brown said. “We have cut and trimmed. There’s not even personnel that can be cut without affecting the quality of the library experience.”
While the library has few sources of revenue outside of the transfer from the city’s general fund, one area it has targeted is outstanding late fees.
Close to $800,000 is owed in late fees, stretching back seven or eight years, Brown said. In recent years, the library has gotten tougher in trying to collect the fees, including hiring a collection agency, and now counts on about $200,000 a year in fees, Shagina said.
The library is also expected to generate a one-time windfall of $500,000 to $700,000 when it auctions off 1,690 rare books next month.
The money is earmarked for physical improvements and library officials are loath to spend it on operating expenses, said deputy director Janice Bradley.
“We have some very extensive capital needs that will be coming up in the next year or so,” said Bradley. Using the money from the auction “would be a one-, maybe two-year fix, then we would be in even worse straits.”