Community Corner

Bethlehem Library Board Approves 2012 Budget

The Bethlehem Area Public Library's $3 million spending plan was rejected by two board members; however, member municipalities will get last word.

The board of directors of the  approved a proposed 2012 operating budget of nearly $3 million on Tuesday night, though support was not unanimous.

While eight board members voted in favor of the budget proposal, which calls for a 2 percent increase in spending over this year,  Commissioner Tom Nolan and Bob Schoenen, a representative of Hanover Township, Northampton County, voted against it. There were also two abstentions.

Nolan said that although he was pleased that library staff had gone back after last month’s meeting and trimmed an initial budget proposal by nearly $30,000, he thought more cuts were possible. Schoenen similarly wanted more belt-tightening.

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The $30,000 reduction from the initial proposal was realized by asking employees to contribute a higher percentage--20 instead of 15--of their health insurance premiums.

The Lower Saucon Township representative, Lynn Koehler, was not at the meeting. Lower Saucon has made the most noise about a  to join the Hellertown Library as a cost-saving measure.

Find out what's happening in Hellertown-Lower Sauconwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

However, library Executive Director Janet S. Fricker said Lower Saucon is not expected to leave--if it even decides to--before the end of 2012. and is not expected to finish before the summer of 2012.

Nearly $2.2 million of the $3 million in the budget comes from member municipalities. The rest comes from other sources--primarily the state of Pennsylvania, which is expected to provide a little more than $500,000.

The funding formula for the library calls for a set per capita contribution from each of its six member municipalities. The requested contribution for 2012 is $17.03 per person.

That makes the city of Bethlehem the largest funding source for the library. The city’s proposed contribution for 2012 is nearly $1.28 million, a $47,000 increase from a year ago.

Bethlehem Township is the next largest local funding source, having contributed $371,551 this year. The proposal for next year calls for an increase of nearly $33,000. Lower Saucon Township is being asked for $183,467 in 2012, a $10,000 increase from this year.

Under the library’s charter, the city is the only municipality that must approve the library’s budget. The legislatures of the five other member municipalities--which also include the boroughs of Fountain Hill and Freemansburg--can vote whether or not to continue to be library members under the budget proposal put before them.


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