Library Board President: Rye Free Reading Room Can't Afford a $100,000 Budget Cut

Debra Julian, Rye's leading "bookie," is hedging her bets.

She is hoping against hope that today the Rye City Council won't approve a .

Julian, an avid reader, fundraiser and stay-at-home mom who is known as "Mrs. Rye Free Reading Room" around town, has petitioned the council to lower that potential budget reduction by almost half—to nearly $54,300, which would help the Rye Free Reading Room avoid a reduction in operating hours.

Julian is the president of the library's Board of Directors. She and the 10-member board have their collective fingers crossed that the City Council will avoid drastic cuts to the library's funding in its effort to  The library is one of many departments facing cuts. The city has also proposed reductions to Rye Recreation and the the, all in the hopes it can offset $1 million in increased expenses for retirement and healthcare costs, city officials have said.

Whatever happens tonight, the library's show must and will go on, albeit in a reduced capacity.

The City Council's proposed cuts—averaging around 8.7 percent—would, among other things, mean staff reductions to the library's 14 full-time and several part-time employees, reduction in the library's purchasing power, and the possible closing of the library on Saturdays, Julian told Patch.

Whichever way the City Council votes, the board is scheduled to meet Dec. 16 to decide its next moves, at a time when the library is winding down its annual "Love the Library" campaign with its goal of raising $190,000.

"We're hoping the City Council will meet us at least half way in restoring our budget cuts," Julian said. "Our relationship with the City Council has always been friendly, open, collaborative, and I have already appeared before them twice in trying to make our case –the Rye Free Reading Room is a vital part of the municipality, like the fire, police and sanitation departments, except in a less obvious way."

"One of the reasons why I fell in love with Rye and moved here 12 years ago was the beauty of the library," she said.

But postcard beauty doesn't pay the library's extensive bills, from dealing with an aging historic building in need of repair, to a new wing built on a flood plane, to trying to cram more hours into an operating schedule that includes less staff than in previous years.

"We still haven't replaced two full-time staff members who left last year in a bid to keep costs down," Julian said. "We've cut down on purchases, and are faced with further cuts."

With this year's final operating figures not yet in, last year's library budget gives insight into what the library's costs are, based on its total operating income of about $1.58 million. The library spends more than $1 million on personnel costs, about $840,000 of which goes to salaries and wages. It also spends $174,085 on materials and programs—including books, periodicals and DVDs—that many Rye residents enjoy.

Those numbers and the rest of the library's budget figures show that in terms of public funding per capita, Rye is the lowest in its peer group with funding of $77 per resident compared to Bronxville, Harrison, Scarsdale and Chappaqua, which spend $181, $162, $161 and $96 per resident, respectively, on their libraries.

Julian and her fellow Board members—including board vice president Julia Dailey, secretary Barbara Ormerod-Glynn, and treasurer John Erickson—will have tough decisions to make on Thursday if the Rye City Council follows through with its $100,000 cut to the library's funding. On Jan. 3, a new director will begin overseeing the library after an exhaustive search to replace the previous director Kurt Hadeler, who resigned this year.

Even with a possible $190,000 in additional revenue from the Rye Free Reading Room's "Love the Library" campaign, that person will have a difficult job of ensuring the library can maintain its operations next year and the level of service it has provided to residents.