Library Board Approves 2011 Budget

(Editor's Note: This article has been corrected to reflect the vote.)

The Montville Library Board of Trustees approved the Library’s 2011 budget, listed at $1,345,287, at its meeting on Monday night.

Trustee Don Kostka presented the budget, which passed with a 7-2 majority vote. According to his projections, which listed the library’s budget from 2007 to 201o and projected the budget forward into 2016, the 2011 budget maintains a trend in decreased spending over the last year.

“In 2099, actual spending was up 2 percent,” Kostka said. “It went down 3.1 percent in 2010 and in ’11 we’re projected to go down 3.3 percent in actual numbers. It’s a 6.4 percent drop over two years."

According to Kostka, the library is projected to run a surplus through 2016.

“We run [the library] like a business,” he said.

Trustee Robert Lefkowitz voted not to pass the budget, taking issue with what he characterized as last-minutes changes in the budget.

“I’m not sure how I’m supposed to go through this budget on one day’s notice, and now I’m seeing things have changed,” he said, referring to what Kostka described as “a couple of changes” that were “slightly different” from the budget provided to the Trustee on Saturday. “I don’t know how I can approve of something I haven’t reviewed.”

Board President Howard Chesler, who voted to approve the budget, said he was fine with the changes based on the size of money being dealt with.

“A budget is a big-picture item,” he said. “A thousand dollars up, down or in-between, you can consider [it covered]. If you tell me it’s a $60,000 [change], we can have a discussion.”

Tim Braden, a trustee and liaison to the Township Committee, agreed with Chesler’s assessment of the budget.

“This is not an exact document,” he said. “It’s a budget: by nature, it is an estimate of what we’re going to spend our money on. If things need to be rearranged, in looking out to 2013 and we need more money for [facilities], that’s the time to do it. I don’t have a problem with this document.”

According to Kostka, roughly $800,000 of the 2011 budget will go toward overheard, salary and wages, down from approximately $903,000 in 2008, $878,000 in 2009 and $840,000 in 2010.