Twinsburg Public Library Prepared for State Cuts

While some libraries around Ohio are bracing for cuts in their budget from state funding, the has been prepared.

Director Laura Leonard said they began cutting back in 2009, anticipating possible cuts.

Gov. John Kasich's , released earlier this week, would continue cutting state public library funding by 5 percent in 2012 and 2013. Statewide, that could mean a loss of more than $160 million over the two years.

Leonard said the Ohio Library Council explained to them that whatever they received from July 2010 through June 30 2011, 95 percent of that figure is what they’ll get for next two fiscal years.  That is a cut of about $50,000.

“Compared to what it could have been, that is manageable for us,” Leonard said. “If we understand what they’re going to do correctly.”

She is, however, still concerned about what will happen with the public utilities tax, tangible property tax (taxes on stocks and bonds), and money from the homestead exemption.

“If it’s just the 5 percent, that’s something we can handle,” Leonard said. “I’m leery of what happens to those rollbacks, which last year totaled $328,000.”

Most of the library’s revenue comes from Public Library Fund and property taxes, which shields them from major state budget cuts.

“We are very lucky to be in the community we are, where we have that property tax funding,” Leonard said.

Leonard said the library knew that cuts may be looming in the future, so they began taking action early in hopes of getting through an uncertain economy.

“We’ve anticipated some of this coming, so we’ve made cuts in areas that don’t affect the public,” Leonard said. “We’re confident that we’ll withstand whatever we have coming.”

Starting in 2009, after the state announced cuts that didn’t go through, the library limited hours on Saturday to remain open on Sundays, delayed weekday openings by a half hour, released one administrative position and opted not to fill two positions where employees retired. Employees lost two paid holidays and started paying more towards health insurance.

One positive was that while most libraries cut back on material spending last year, Twinsburg spent more to avoid reductions in what the public gets, Leonard said.

The OLC will sit down with legislators on Monday to get a clearer picture of how the budget crunch will look.

Twinsburg Patch will keep you updated on the budget situation as information becomes available.