The James Prendergast Library

JAMESTOWN – The James Prendergast Library Board of Trustees will wait until at least the fall before it determines whether or not it will change its bylaws to determine how future trustees are selected and whether or not to establish a residency requirement.

The Prendergast falls under the category of an Association Library in New York State. Earlier this month residents approved a proposition to create an Association Library District for the library, which allows it to raise $350,000 each year through a library property tax that will be added to the Jamestown School District tax bill. The library district – which follows the same boundaries as the school district – was established to help offset a recent reduction in funding from city government. The new $350,000 levy also can not be adjusted or eliminated unless another public vote takes place.

As a library board, the trustees have the fiduciary responsibility of overseeing the annual budget, which now will include the annual library tax paid by all property owners in the district.

If the Prendergast were a Public Library instead of an Association Library, it would be required by state law to hold elections for its board members or have them appointed by other elected officials, such as the mayor and city council. There is no state law mandating a process for selecting trustees for association libraries, but the New York State Education Department (NYSED) states at its website that an association library can emulate the basic characteristics of a public library by providing a process for, among other things, the public election of its trustees. NYSED also states, “Association Library bylaws should be amended by the board of trustees to ensure that all eligible voters within the library’s service area can ‘join’ the library association as members and participate in annual elections to select library trustees.” NYSED also states that while not mandatory, residential requirements for the board of trustees may be established in an association library’s bylaws.

As it currently stands for the Prendergast Library, only those individuals who serve on the board of trustees are considered “members” and have the ability to select any new trustees to join the board.  And anyone is invited to apply to be a member of the board of trustees, regardless of residency. The bylaws also state that the number of trustees shall not be less than seven nor more than fifteen. As of this month, there are seven trustees who reside within the district and five who do not.

Prior to the vote approving the $350,000 library tax levy, one of the questions that was raised in the community was whether or not there would be a residency requirement for the board of trustees if the district was approved – or even if city residents would be able to directly vote for who they want to serve on the board, similar to what currently happens with the school board.

“This board could vote to institute that. If that’s important to people, let us know,” explained recently-retired Prendergast executive director Tina Scott during a “community conversation” meeting last October. But Scott also added that there hadn’t been a lot of interest in board participation from within the community, or for there to be stricter requirements on who would serve on the board. “It’s tough to get people to sign up to be on the board and [if there was a required public vote] we would need to pay to hold a vote. But if that’s what the community would want, then absolutely. We’d love the participation,” Scott said.

The library’s new executive director Anne Greene also told WRFA earlier this month that changing the bylaws is something the board is willing to consider.

“The board is open to this idea. However, this year it is impossible due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve been focusing on providing service and adhering to public safety guidelines that we have to maintain. But they are definitely open to that and they’ve been discussing it. There would have to be candidates, a campaign, and elections and what not, but they definitely are investigating it,” Greene said.

Because the board doesn’t typically meet during the summer months, the next time it meets wont be until September 17. Whether or not there will be discussion on changing the bylaws for selecting future trustees and also a implementing a residency requirement at that time remains to be seen.

Fenton History Center director Noah Goodling (standing) meets with the Jamestown City Council during its Nov. 18, 2019 budget work session.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown City Council will likely use recently discovered savings in the 2020 City Budget to reduce local property taxes rather than boost funding in other areas of the spending plan, including providing more aid for the James Prendergast Library.

On Monday night the city council held its public hearing on the $36.6 million budget with only person speaking out. City Resident Doug Champ offered two ideas on how the city could save money in the future – shifting storm water maintenance to the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities and privatizing leaf pickup. In addition, he also urged the council to help the library by restoring additional city aid for next year while also appealing to the three members of the city council who work in public education, saying that the library is a valuable educational resource for the entire community.

Jamestown resident Doug Champ speaks to the Jamestown City Council during its Nov. 18 budget hearing.

“Our library is a catalyst of ideas. People who can’t afford – and I stream everything. I pay $70 a month for my internet service – they can’t afford that. There are people that can’t afford to buy a book. So I ask you to augment the mayor’s budget, which has $60,000 for the library. I would like to see you as a city council add $40,000 to that for a $100,000 total,” Champ said.

Following the public hearing, the city council continued its budget deliberations by meeting with officials from the Prendergast Library and the Fenton History Center.  Prendergast Director Tina Scott reiterated the news from earlier this year, saying the library is expecting to lose $110,000 in state aid next year because it the city has dramatically cut its local share of taxpayer supported library aid.

“Unfortunately, what we had warned the city about for many years now has come to pass,” Scott said. “Because or [local] tax support has been cut by more than 5% over two years, it triggers the ‘maintenance of effort’ clause in library law, which cuts our state funding. [The state] cut 25% already this year and next year we stand to lose all of it.”

Scott also pointed out that 98% of the public libraries in the United States receive more community support as a percentage of their budge than the Prendergast receives from Jamestown.

Prendergast Library director Tina Scott talks with the Jamestown City Council on Nov. 18, 2019.

This year the city dedicated $50,000 in funding for the library, a decrease of $300,000 from just two years earlier. Next year the mayor’s budget calls for giving the library $60,000, but the library says that is no where near enough to ensure the state aid for the library can also continue. As a result, Scott said the library is looking at a $126,000 deficit in next year’s budget.

Unlike other recent budget years, this year the city council does have some adjustments it can make beyond what was proposed by Mayor Sam Teresi and that includes the option of boosting library aid.

It was announced earlier this month that next year’s city budget could have as much as $357,000 in savings to its health insurance costs. During that announcement both the mayor and city comptroller Joe Bellitto recommended the council be conservator and only project about $150,000 in savings, meaning that could be applied to other areas of next year’s budget. But despite the financial challenges facing the library and other departments in city government, Teresi recommended using the savings toward a tax cut.

Following last night’s meeting with the library officials the city council held its regular work session and during that meeting, city councilman and finance committee chairman Tony Dolce (R-Ward 2) said he was in agreement that the money should be used to cut the tax rate.

“If we just took that conservative amount of $150,000 and budgeted toward next year’s budget, that would give us a tax decrease of $0.22 per thousand. That would get us down below the constitutional taxing limit, just below 99%. So it would be a slight, decent tax decrease,” Dolce said.

According to Mayor Teresi’s budget presentation in October, the current tax rate for city tax payers is $23.85 per thousand assessed value. If all the $150,000 in savings is applied toward reducing the tax levy next year, the new tax rate would be $23.63 per thousand. That’s an annual savings of $22 for property valued at $100,000.

Joining Dolce in voicing support for the property tax cut were council members Maria Jones (D-Ward 5) and Tom Nelson (D-Ward 6). However councilman Andy Liuzzo (R-At Large) said he would instead prefer to see the money go to support the library and help it for one more year. However, it didn’t appear enough of his fellow council members supported that idea, although he does have the option to bring it forward again as a formal amendment before the council holds its budget vote next week during its monthly voting session at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 25.

Meanwhile, the library could still see its financial challenges addressed in the future if it can convince enough residents to support a public vote on creating an annual library property tax levy. During next May’s school budget vote, a proposition will appear on the ballot calling for the establishment of a $350,000 levy for the library. If approved, that levy would remain in place in perpetuity or until residents voted again to change it.

The James Prendergast Library

JAMESTOWN – The James Prendergast Library will see it’s state aid reduced by $16,500.

That’s according to the Jamestown Post-Journal, which says the financially strapped library found out on Friday that state officials that aid has been cut by 25 percent.  Library Director Tina Scott said the reduction in state aid is a direct result of the city of Jamestown cutting the Library’s funding by more than 5 percent in a two-year period.

For its $818,000 2019 budget, the library has projected it would receive $77,400 in state aid.  The $16,500 cut by the state represents a 2 percent loss in total revenue.

• RELATED: WRFA May 2019 Interview with Tina Scott and Joni Blackman

In addition, funding for nonfiction and reference materials for the entire Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System will also receive a 25% reduction. the system receives around $45,000 for nonfiction and reference materials, but that will be reduced by $11,250 for this year.

• MOBILE APP USERS: LISTEN VIA SOUNDCLOUD

Originally airing Thursday, May 2, 2019

WRFA’s Jason Sample talks with James Prendergast Library Executive Director Tina Scott and Board President Joni Blackman about the library has been able to cope in 2019, given some recent financial challenges.

The James Prendergast Library

Prendergast Library Executive Director Tina Scott (seated right) meets with the Jamestown City Council on Nov. 13 to discuss the city’s 2018 budget and its impact on the library.

JAMESTOWN – Supporters of the James Prendergast Library were among those on hand at Jamestown City Hall Monday night for a budget meeting between city and library officials.

With the Jamestown City Council continuing to consider possible adjustments to the 2018 city budget, Prendergast Executive Director Tina Scott went over the details of the library’s operating budget and explained how funding from the city is used to help ensure the doors stay open and all services are being met.

Mayor Sam Teresi’s executive budget is calling for a 50 percent cut in library funding, from $100,000 this year to just $50,000 in 2018. Even with the cut in funding to the library, the city is still faced with a budget deficit for 2018 over nearly $950,000.

Scott said since 2013, the library has reduced their budget by $363,000, or 30 percent, and that every dollar from the city is essential to ensure the library can continue to operate.

“We’ve cut hours. We’ve offered early retirement. We’ve cut services. And we’ve instituted a hiring freeze,” Scott said. “There really is no where else to cut, being that we need to be open 55 hours a week in order to just be a library in a community of this size.”

In addition to Scott appearing before the council, several library board members and community members talked with lawmakers, urging them to restore the $50,000 cut.

Jamestown City Council President Greg Rabb (seated left) explains to those in attendance why it’s unlikely $50,000 in funding for the Prendergast Library will be restored in the city’s 2018 budget.

Outgoing city council president Greg Rabb pointed out that the vast majority of the city council supports education and understands the important role the library plays as an educational institution in the community. However, he also said that while the entire city council wants to support the library, members also have to face the reality that the funding simply is no longer there.

“We’ve got a million dollar deficit. Tell me where you’re going to get me a million dollars so we can balance the budget. Tell me where I’m going to get $200,000 to keep our firehouses operating so our firefighters don’t have to worry about ceilings leaking and have to offer to help repair,” Rabb said, referring to details offered earlier this month by Deputy Fire Chief Chet Harvey, who stated that two of the city’s firehouses are in desperate need of repair.

“I love the library. [The rest of the city council] loves the library. We want to do the right thing, but the right thing is sometimes very painful,” Rabb said, adding that he doubts there will be an opportunity for the council to restore the money that is being cut.

If the cut stands, the city will have reduced funding for the library by more than 85 percent over the past three years.

Despite the cut in city funding, the library will be seeing an influx in new revenue due to the auctioning off of its classic art collection, which was initially valued at $1.17 million. So far the auctions have brought in $340,000 in sales, with the most valued of the art pieces yet to be sold. The next auction will take place later this month on Nov. 21 at Sotheby’s auction house.  But even with the new revenue, it’s unlikely it will be adequate to help the library though its financial challenges because the majority will be put in its endowment fund, with the generated interest from that fund being applied toward future library budgets.

Council Also Hears from City Development Department, Fenton History Center

As part of the budget deliberations, the council also heard from City Development Director Vince DeJoy, who focused on the various successes the city has seen in economic development and housing initiatives, despite having to work on a shoe string budget.

Fenton History Center Executive Director Noah Goodling also shared details of his budget with the city. The history center is located in the Fenton Mansion, which is owned by the city and as a result, the city is responsible for helping with the building’s upkeep.

The city council will hold a public hearing on the budget next Monday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. and will likely approve a final spending plan when it holds its monthly voting session on Monday, Nov. 27.

Copies of the city budget are available in city hall in the clerk’s office and the mayor’s office, as well as at the James Prendergast Library.

JAMESTOWN – Members of the Jamestown City Council heard from residents Monday night, requesting the city restore funding the James Prendergast Library as part of the city’s 2018 budget deliberations.

Resident Ned Lindstrom was one of six people who spoke to the Jamestown City Council during its work session on Oct. 16, urging the council to restore a funding cut for the library in the city’s proposed 2018 budget.

Six people spoke to the council in an effort to show support for library funding. In addition, Library Executive Director Tina Scott was on hand and provided the city council with a petition of 377 signatures that have been collected during the past week, calling for the city to continue funding the library at its current level.

In the executive budget that he presented last week, Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi proposed cutting funding for the library in half, down to $50,000.

Since 2015, the city has cut funding for the library by more than 85 percent to help in the effort of offseting annual funding deficits in the city budget, due to mandatory expenses such as salaries, benefits, and debt service.

Among those who spoke was city resident Paul Demler who said as someone who’s also had experience working on a budget with various challenges, he understands the situation the council members are facing, but added that they still must find a way.

“I can understand the problems with getting the money together for everything that’s necessary, but it’s something you have to do. It’s within your responsibility as it is in my responsibility,” Demler said. “I made sure that when we did it, we had the funds and we may have had to shift them from time to time, but at least the funds were available for all our needs. I think the library is one of those items the city council must devote itself to. There’s kind of a moral responsibility for all of this.”

Another city resident, Susan Kalfas, also requested that the city find a way to provide the library with adequate funding.

“Just as the council works diligently to retain home control of our city by conforming to all state regulations, so too, it is in the best interest of the city and all of its citizens to maintain the library with its impressive 204,000 item collection and its existing endowment so that this outstanding city resource will not go into decline, but will continue to support our people, especially our children,” Kalfas said.

Residents Ned Lindstrom and Michael Smoker also spoke to the important role the library plays in helping those with mental health issues, as well as area youth.

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi at the Oct. 16, 2017 city council work session.

Later in the meeting Mayor Teresi addressed the city council about the city budget, including the library funding issue. He said that while he would like nothing more than to see the city increase financial support for the library, it’s something that it simply can not do under current circumstances.

“I need to stress that there should be no new spending, at least until such time, as the $947,000 deficit that we are grappling with right now can be resolved,” Teresi said. “We can not be adding any additional lines of spending in this budget and we literally can not spend what we do not have, and right now, there is a series of other things that we have to reconcile in this budget and that we’ve got to deliver on first before any new programs are added or before any existing programs that have been cut can be restored back to higher and previous funding levels.”

As the mayor noted, the $35.7 million executive budget for 2018 contains a deficit just south of $950,000 and the city council is working to identify ways to close that deficit before approving a final budget before the Dec. 1 deadline.

The council began that task on Monday night with the start of budget hearings with various department heads. Last night the council heard from the city Department of Public Works, Parks, Recreation, and Finance Departments – all of which said the proposed budget is calling for significantly less funding than what they are requesting, adding that it will be a very difficult year when it comes to equipment and building upkeep, due to a lack of adequate money.

Budget deliberations will continue in two weeks on Monday night, Oct 30 at 6:30 p.m., prior to the city council’s 7:30 voting session. Both meetings are open to the public.

The library board, meanwhile, will continue to work on its own budget for 2018 when it meets this Thursday at 5:15 p.m.

The Read-A-Thon honors the late Jim Roselle, a well-known area radio personality for decades. He was also a longtime library board member who used to say a library card was the most valuable card in anyone’s wallet. More than 40 readers will select 10-minute excerpts from favorite books, poems, plays and articles to share with a live audience. Three of the first readers to sign up are Jim’s widow Kathy Roselle, State Assemblyman Andy Goodell, and Chautauqua County Legislator Elisabeth Rankin.

To volunteer to read at the Read-A-Thon, call trustee and event chairperson Joni Blackman at 969-1946. Online sign-ups will be available soon.

Because the event is a fundraiser, readers are asked to find sponsors for their reading slots. Businesses and individuals are also requested to support a half hour or an hour of reading in order to make the event a success.

People can also donate online at www.prendergastlibrary.org by clicking on the Support button and marking their donation for the Read-A-Thon.

According to Tina Scott, the library’s executive director, June 10 will be the last day of the summer bargain book sale with half-price titles. The library will also be hosting a petting zoo from 1 to 3 p.m. The Read-A-Thon will also feature food, prizes, family activities and surprises for those attending.

“It will be a jam-packed day of activities and fun,” Ms. Blackman said.

Proceeds from the event will support the library’s materials budget and its ongoing services and programs.  Prendergast Library is located at 509 Cherry St., Jamestown. For information, call 484-7135.

The Jamestown Post-Journal is reporting that the library board of trustees on Thursday approved next year’s budget, which totals $916,000 – about $215,000 less than the 2016 budget.

A main reason for the decrease in the budget is due to the city of Jamestown reducing the amount of funding it provides to the library by $250,000.

To work within the spending plan, the library will reduce expenses by closing on Sundays and reducing hours, cutting the materials budget, and by offering a retirement incentive to three employee.

Library board president Tom Rankin said the board is thankful that Executive Director Tina Scott has been able to manage the library’s budget so the facility can remain open, with most services still available to the public.

No information regarding the future of the library’s art collection was provided. It’s expected the board will provide an update on the collection’s fate in 2017.

James Prendergast Library Executive Director Tina Scott (far right) meets with the Jamestown City Council during its Nov. 15 budget work session to discuss the implications a 70 percent funding cut would have on the library.

JAMESTOWN – The James Prendergast Library will be in financial dire straits if the city were to move forward and cut 70 percent of its funding for next year.

That’s according to Library Executive Director Tina Scott, who met with Jamestown City Council members Monday night during a works session for the 2017 city budget.

According to Scott, nearly a third of the library’s annual operating budget comes from the city of Jamestown through an annual payment. However, the city is facing a major budget deficit next year and as a result, it is proposing a 70 percent cut in funding – which equates to $250,000.

Scott told city lawmakers that if they were to go forward with that type of a cut, it would result in domino effect of funding cuts that would further impact the library, and would also reverberate through the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System.

“When we are cut more than five percent over two years, the whole library system is in danger of [seeing state funding] cut by 25 percent. That would result in $237,847 in state aid being cut for the system, which serves 36 libraries within the two counties. Because Prendergast is a central library, we split the central library funding with Olean, but we get two-thirds and they get a third, so that would be loss of $27,000 between us – or $18,000 for us and $9,000 for Olean.”

Scott also said that in addition to the library system losing state funding because of the cut, the problem would be compounded because the Prendergast could lose central library status because it would likely have to cut several key services, including staying open 55 hours each week, providing adequate reading material, and offering on-site computer and internet service.

James Prendergast Library Executive Director Tina Scott (head of table) meets with the Jamestown City Council during its Nov. 15 budget work session.

“If we can’t meet those needs, then we can’t have central library status,” Scott told the city council. “And what we’ve discovered this week is that we thought that [staying open] 55 hours a week was necessary just because we are a central library, but it’s not. We also have to be open 55 hours a week because of the size of the city we are in. If we were to lose central library status, we’d lose about $75,000 in central library aid. So we would lose that money and we could – over the years if this goes forward – keep taking money from our endowment and it reduces to nothing, we’ll be a very, very small library.”

So if the city were to cut funding by $250,000, Scott says the actual impact it would have is closer to $343,000.

LIBRARY ALREADY PURSING CUTS TO BALANCE ITS OWN BUDGET

Scott said the library has already made cuts to its budget for next year, including having three top-level employees take early retirement. She said that the board is still weighing its option about selling its art collection – although that money would likely go into the library’s endowment and would provide long-term support that is needed to have the library continue to operate at its current level.

Following her presentation, the city council asked if there were other fund raising possibilities for the library to pursue to offset the loss form the city, and Scott said they were continuing to work on those kinds of ideas. She said a couple of public input sessions are also planned later this month to allow the public an opportunity to help with the library’s strategic plan.

Following the discussion, City Council member and Finance Committee Chair Tony Dolce said that it’s not likely the city council will be able to restore any of the funding to the library, as it continues to look for ways to close its own operating deficit for next year.

So far, the city council has identified about $53,000 in savings to the proposed $35 million budget for next year, but that comes no where near the amount needed to close an $879,000 deficit.

The city council will act on the 2016 budget on Monday, Nov. 28. A final budget meeting is set to take place that same night, starting at 6:30 p.m. the council will vote on the budget during its 7:30 voting session that same night.