Rye Brook Weighs Budget Cuts to Library, Police Department

The Port Chester-Rye Brook Public Library and the Rye Brook Police Department will likely experience a reduction in service levels if the proposed cuts in the village's tentative budget are adopted on April 27.

The Rye Brook Village Board met on Monday night with representatives from the library and police department after asking the heads of each department to cut 5 percent of its budget.

Rye Brook Mayor Joan Feinstein said every department in the village was asked to make the same reductions, but that the 5 percent did not include personnel and salary cuts.

"No one wants to make cuts, but we have constraints as well," Feinstein said.

The library was asked to cut an additional $67,000 from its $474, 048 budget. The library's budget has remained flat for the last two fiscal years, despite an increase in expenses.

Robin Lettieri, the library's director, said it has become a vital resource to many residents by providing free wi-fi, help to job seekers and community programs.

"I know that it's difficult, that the economy is really bad, but we are just being used more than ever," Lettieri said.

If the library did have to implement proposed reductions in Rye Brook's tentative budget, Lettieri said it would have to cut summer reading and storytelling programs, summer Saturday hours, and cut back on purchasing materials, such as DVD's, books and magazines and newspaper subscriptions.

Rye Brook has an intermunicipal agreement with the Village of Port Chester to share library services. Under that agreement, Rye Brook will make a $20,000 capital contribution to the library in the coming year, while Port Chester will make a $35,000 contribution.

Lettieri said that the library does contribute more than $92,000 to its own operating budget from grants, in-kind contributions and other sources, but several sources of funding, particularly grants, are more difficult to get in this economic climate. She said the library is trying to get extra state funding by applying for a $50,000 grant with the help of state Senator Suzi Oppenheimer.

"The library is applying for as many grants as possible," she said.

Rye Brook Village Board members pondered whether the library could save more money by eliminating the policy of not having employees contribute to their own healthcare plans, an amount that costs the village $7,000 a year per individual and about $16,000 a year per family. However, Lettieri said that with some employees making less than $40,000 a year, the library has to offer that incentive in order to stay competitive.

The Village Board also discussed cuts to the police department Monday night.

The police department comprises the biggest portion of Rye Brook's proposed $17 million budget at more than $3 million a year. This year's budget for the department has increased to slightly more than $3.21 million, up from slightly more than $3.18 million in the 2009-2010 fiscal year.

The increase includes personnel costs, but Rye Brook Police Lieutenant Eugene Matthews said the department has tried its best to make reductions where appropriate to meet the village's five percent request.

"We cut from every [budget] line, except ones that were contractual," Matthews said.

The cuts include leaving one police officer vacancy unfilled for the 2010-11 fiscal year, cutting one police car, no hourly wage increases for school crossing guards, and the possible elimination of one school crossing guard if sidewalks were constructed on the north side of Westchester Avenue near the Rye Town Hilton.

The Village Board also said that cuts to the middle school and elementary school DARE program might be possible if donations, grants and police staffing levels were reduced.

Rye Brook will hold another budget session on Saturday to discuss cuts to budgets for parks and recreation, senior services, the fire department and engineering and public works before holding a budget hearing on April 13 and adopting its budget on April 27.