Wantagh Library board finalizing budget

Wantagh Library officials are close to finalizing a budget, which would be presented to the public for a vote in May.

On Feb. 11, three members of the library’s Board of Trustees joined Director Maggie Marino for its second budget work session to discuss proposed spending for 2015-16. The tentative budget comes in a $2.47 million, a $40,000 increase over the current year. It is expected to be finalized by the library board at its Monday night meeting.

The library, which shares the same boundaries as the Wantagh School District, would collect $2.43 million from taxes. Remaining revenue comes from fines and program fees.

Nearly half of the budget, $1.15 million, is for salaries. The contract for library employees expires at the end of June, and negotiations have not yet begun on a new deal.

Retirement costs are expected to drop about $20,000 next year. New spending would include $5,000 more for books, audio books and subscriptions to online databases. There would also be a $6,500 increase for programs.

“Attendance at our programs is up,” library board President Margaret Kowalski said, “so we want to offer more.”

Wantagh is working to become a Family Place Library, a nationwide initiative that began in Suffolk County. It is a network of libraries that fosters early literacy skills for children. New toys that help develop these literacy skills would be purchased, along with the addition of workshops for parents to connect them with resources within their own community.

New iPads would be purchased for “tweens,” which Marino described as late elementary school and middle school-age children. She said there are many applications available on the iPads that are of interest to that age group, and in the coming weeks her staff will be developing a plan on how to best use the technology in a library setting.

The draft budget includes a $10,000 increase for equipment to install new security gates at both entrances. Kowalski said that library officials are concerned about the theft of materials, and want to put in a better system.

Money would also be allocated for work that would extend the warranty on the roof over the western section of the Park Avenue building, which is not slated for replacement until 2019.

The Board of Trustees is expecting that the allowable tax levy increase will be 1.87 percent, and the current plan comes in at 1.67 percent, meaning the budget would only need a simple majority to pass. The average annual library tax for a home in the district is between $300 and $400 per year.

The budget vote is set for Tuesday, April 28, and is open to all eligible voters in the Wantagh School District. The trustee seat of Ralph Spagnolo is also up, which carries a five-year term, and nominating petitions are due to the Wantagh School District clerk by March 30.