Some Financial Updates

Everyone knows that the financial picture locally as well as nationally was not good in 2009 and it is not clear that 2010 will improve that situation very fast, although most experts do predict some relief. However, many of the issues that institutions like the Pleasant Valley Free Library and the Mid-Hudson Library System (MHLS) have to deal with are influenced by the experience of the previous year and the somewhat gloomy predictions for this year.

Funding from Dutchess County for MHLS and also State funds were problematical as we entered the next budget years. As I write, we still don't know what will happen at the State level, but after County funding was out and in the budget, the final result has been that MHLS will get 87% of the amount it received last year. I don't know exactly how that will filter down to individual libraries, but we are unlikely to get more than 87% of the $6,097 we received from the County last year. If we should receive the whole 87%, it would come to about $5,300, essentially a $700 cut. If all State aid should disappear, we would lose another $2,000 on top of that.

Meanwhile, MHLS has had to add a fee to member libraries for the holds and interlibrary loans it makes. This fee is being allocated to libraries based on their past use of the holds, so Pleasant Valley Library, whose patrons use holds extensively, is hit fairly hard--to the tune of $3,649 in fact. If you consider this in terms of the likely County reduction in funds, that is a budget reduction of about $4,350--$6,350 if State funds go to zero. There has been some discussion of charging 25 cents for holds to help make up the deficit.

Speaking of 25-cent charges, we have raised the late fees for audio CDs to $0.25 per day--but this is not primarily to raise money. Instead, it is intended to be an incentive for patrons to return the audio CDs sooner, as the queues waiting for these have become excessively long.