Library board addressed 2010 budget shortfall

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THE PIERCE COUNTY LIBRARY BOARD STRUGGLED TO MAINTAIN PROGRAMS, SUCH AS CHILDRENS’ STORY TIME, AMIDST A $1.5 million budget shortfall.

Last month, the Pierce County Library System’s Board of Trustees adopted the library systems $28.6 million operating budget for 2010, with taxpayers at the center of the decisions. The budget addressed a $1.5 million shortfall, which resulted from revenues not keeping up with the costs to run the system. Reduced values on assessed properties and a drop in construction of new buildings throughout the county also contributed to the shortfalls.

Approximately 97 percent of the system’s funding comes from taxes on houses, commercial buildings and other property. The reductions are mostly behind-the-scenes changes and the board is convinced customers will still receive outstanding quality service from the library system.

The board did not approve its legal authority to collect 1 percent more in tax revenue than it did in 2009, thus reducing costs to taxpayers. Under state law, for taxing districts with populations of more than 10,000, the property tax limit is the lesser of 101 percent or 100 percent plus inflation.

“We carefully weighed the reductions in our budget to ensure the library continues to serve customers and taxpayers,” Board Chair Eugene Matsusaka said. “We strove to balance the economic challenges in our communities while maintaining staff jobs.”

With the majority of the library’s budget comprised of salaries and benefits, the significant reductions were to staff. The library eliminated 24 positions, mostly in supervisory roles. In all, the library laid off nine people. The library also converted 31 positions to lower pay and responsibility, to make a clear delineation between processing materials and direct service to customers.

The board struggled to keep its commitment from a re-authorized levy voters passed in 2006, which added hours in libraries, offered more materials, increased services to help prepare children to read and with homework and improved customer and technology services. Other guiding principals in the board’s decision included its goals to provide up-to-date and future-oriented services and to develop and support technology.

“In developing our budget we created a long-term plan that is strategic, flexible and sustainable, and is in the best interest of taxpayers,” said Neel Parikh, executive director of the system. “We made decisions for the long-term interest of the taxpayer, who pays the bill for library services.”

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