Library Budget Vote Set for Wednesday

• Employee salaries will dip a bit, from $2,640,367 to $2,633,661.
• Mandatory benefits will rise from $1,054,884 to $1,271,891.
• Costs for materials and programs will rise from $634,500 to $664,500.
• Costs for maintenance and operations will decrease from $700,700 to $669,000.

The library projects an increase in its estimated income, from $299,500 to $409,000. A payment of $276,405 is built into the proposed budget to pay back taxpayers for the approval of a bond referendum in 1998 that funded the library's expansion.

"Due to some staff attrition this year, we were able to keep the salaries line down, which also helps lower the benefits lines," library director Ted Gutmann said in an email to Patch. "The good news is that the state pension system seems to have caught up from the losses of 2008 and we expect that going forward, the cost increases passed on to us will not be quite so dramatic as they were over the past few years."

"Cost-cutting helped has us reduce our operations budget," Gutmann continued, "and as a result, we are able to increase our expenditures on programs and materials." The library has recently added a museum pass program, offers outreach services to homebound patrons and residents at the Long Island State Veterans Home, and plans to roll out web/app-based service that targets early readers and their parents.

While residents are voting for the budget, their kids can have some fun with the chance to vote on something, too: There will be ballots for kids to fill out and vote for their favorite book, located in the children's room, where kids can fill them out and then bring to the voting area with their parents.