Matawan & Aberdeen seek budget relief in library surplus

ABERDEEN — Faced with escalating budgets, Aberdeen Township and Matawan Borough are asking their joint library to return surplus funds.

The councils of both municipalities have asked the Matawan-Aberdeen Public Library to return unused funds to help offset likely tax increases to fund the 2009 municipal operating budgets.

"As we all know, these are troubling economic times requiring creative and sometimes hard decisions to be made," said Aberdeen Township Mayor David Sobel at the Feb. 26 meeting in Town Hall.

According to Sobel, Aberdeen is "trying to avoid what other governmental entities have announced: service cuts, furloughs, layoffs, wage freezes, borrowing against future budgets, and large tax increases."

"For these reasons, both Matawan and Aberdeen are coming to the library board for their help," Sobel said. "We fully understand what the current financing formula provides, but we are also aware of the library's surplus of approximately $800,000 which is over and above the $1.1 million needed for annual operations. It's also clear that the library does not spend that entire amount of funding."

For the fiscal year 2009, Aberdeen would be responsible for approximately $733,000 and Matawan would be chipping in $361,000 toward the library's operation.

Both municipalities asked for about half of their annual contribution to the joint library to be returned to defray budget increases in both towns.

Both councils were present at the meeting, as was the head librarian, but no members of the library's board of trustees were present due to the fact that they felt they did not have enough time to discuss the request as a board, officials said.

"I am optimistic about coming to an agreeable resolution with the two municipalities and the library board, and whenever decisions are made, I hope it will benefit citizens of both towns with tax relief," Matawan Mayor Paul Buccellato stated after the meeting. "In no way does either municipality want to hurt the library; we want the library to flourish and to continue its mission."

Susan Pike, head librarian at the Matawan-Aberdeen Public Library, represented the board of trustees at the meeting and said she felt she had a better understanding of what the municipalities were asking of her board.

"I understand what the councils are looking for now," she said after the meeting. "But this is totally the board's decision."

According to officials from both towns, municipalities can jointly fund joint libraries and contribute to their operating budgets, but they cannot withdraw funds without going through a state process.

During the meeting, Aberdeen Township Attorney Dan McCarthy, of Rogut McCarthy, Cranford, and Scott Smith, the attorney retained by the library, briefly sparred over that process and how the funds would be handled and ultimately relinquished, if that is the final outcome of negotiations.

The attorneys clashed over two state statutes, both of which apply to funding issues of joint public libraries.

McCarthy said that the two municipalities should follow NJSA 40:54-29.16, which states:

"If the governing body of any of the municipalities objects to the amount or apportionment so certified, it shall forthwith call a joint meeting of the governing bodies and the board of trustees for the purpose of adjusting and settling any differences. If the governing bodies of such municipalities cannot agree, the matter shall be referred to the Director of the Division of Local Government for determination."

The Borough of Matawan has already passed a resolution objecting to the 2009 funding request from the Matawan-Aberdeen Public Library. The resolution objects to the funding request and references the surplus and requests a joint meeting of the municipalities and the library.

Smith maintained that both governing bodies should allow the library to follow NJSA 40:54-15, which requires the library to prepare an annual report for the chief financial officer.

The problem with that, officials from the municipalities explained, is that municipal budgets need to be introduced to the public by mid-March.

Both parties agreed it is unlikely that the library's books and its audit would not be completed before then.

McCarthy referenced NJSA 40:54-29.16 again, saying that it is all the more reason to follow that statute, since time is an issue.

Sobel pointed out during the meeting that in years past, whenever the library asked the municipalities for funds, they were awarded.

"Historically, whenever the library has approached both towns for additional financial support for capital projects in excess of operations, we have always complied with the library's request," he stated. "I would hope that policy would continue well into the future."

Buccellato pointed out during the meeting that the people who sit on the library board are residents whom both towns appointed, and explained that the funds being requested are not exactly surplus funds.

"These are unique times for all of us, and if the economy had not tanked months ago, we would not approach you to ask for surplus monies," he told Pike. "We are using the word surplus, but we realize it is not really classified as surplus, rather unused capital improvement funds."

Officials from both towns reiterated throughout the meeting that neither party wants to quash programs at the library, but needs the funds in order to relieve taxpayers during these trying financial times.

Sobel seemed to extend future possibilities for the library as an olive branch.

"We need to start thinking outside the box," Sobel said. "We cannot be married to that building, and there are properties in either municipality that would be more adequate."

Pike said that she believed the board of trustees would be willing to discuss the matter with the two municipalities.

"I believe my board is willing to discuss all of this with you; they just needed to discuss among themselves the issue of returning funds," she explained. "As the head librarian, I know how hard these times are. I am helping people who have never used a computer before fill out unemployment forms online every day. The library is part of the solution, not part of the problem."

Pike referenced a capital improvement campaign and how hard it is to work within the confined spaces of the library, located next to the post office on Main Street in Matawan.

Aberdeen Township Manager Joseph Criscuolo asked Pike about a proposed capital improvement plan and how the library intended to fund it.

"I would hope that the library would not lay out cash for that, that it would seek municipal bonds, because if I did that as manager of this town, I would no longer be manager of this town," he advised. "Both towns have vital projects within our municipalities, and there might be a better spot for the library."

Criscuolo also offered meeting rooms within Town Hall for the library's use.

By the end of the meeting, Sobel said that he felt confident an agreement would be reached.

"We made significant headway tonight and we will meet again March 9 and see where we are," he said.

Aberdeen Township and Matawan Borough will hold another joint meeting to discuss library surplus funds Mar. 9 at 7 p.m. at Aberdeen Town Hall.