By Lauren Young

Staff Writer

Although last year’s Fayetteville Free Library (FFL) budget proposal was surprisingly rejected by voters, the board hopes this year’s budget proposal, featuring an increase of 1.89 percent, will not meet the same fate.

Last November, the finance committee made a goal to stay under the tax cap. This year, they reached that goal – by a margin of 1.64 percent. Much to their surprise, the FFL received a 3.53 percent tax cap, a “very unusual circumstance,” said Treasurer Pat Curtin who presented the proposed budget at the Board of Trustees meeting on March 27.

After the 2017-18 budget was defeated following a campaign against its four percent increase by Citizens for a Transparent Fayetteville Free Library, the FFL received an extra $23,000 by the state after it was withheld last year.

The new budget took “months and months” of work, according to Executive Director Sue Considine. The goal was to “put together the best proposal to meet our most current and urgent needs,” which include capitol maintenance and arts programs, specifically in music and performance.

A main increase to the budget is its focus on capitol maintenance to “maintain and preserve what is,” said Considine, which can be costly for a 100-year-old facility.

The maintenance, included under building and grounds expenses, experienced a 9.29 percent increase this year following an 8.7 percent increase for insurance.

“I think it’s important for people to understand that when this community made the decision to purchase this building back in 2003, all of the long-term expenses of maintaining and preserving an over 100-year-old building became their responsibility,” said Considine. “The resources to maintain and preserve and be good stewards of this building come from the community; it’s their building. The only vehicle to acquire those funds to be able to preserve and maintain this facility have to come through the budget.”

Programs and outreach expenses will also undergo an increase of $4,700 to “pursue more opportunities for arts, cultures and performances” said Considine. Events will utilize the new Greenspace Pavilion and their Reading Room, which has a rich history of hosting various unique performances.

As covered under information technology expenses, the library may also see a return of self-checkout stations by reallocating funds within the budget.

“When we had self-checkout units here at FFL, at least 10 years ago, the self-checkouts at that time created more work and more barriers for the patrons than it did help,” said Considine. “The technology is not where it needed to be.”

The library later decommissioned the self-checkouts after discovering it was pulling staff away from the front desk to assist patrons having difficulty with the systems. Last summer, however, staff members found that a “number of patrons” were asking about the self-checkout systems, prompting a reinvestigation of its usefulness.

“Technology has come a long way since we introduced them, [self-checkouts] are much more friendly” said Director of Technology Research and Development Bradley Smith, who has been working for months to assess the need to reintroduce self-checkouts into their IT plan. Smith said that the technology can come in handy for parents who want a quicker, more efficient way to check out books rather than having to bring their children to the front desk.

“We’ve seen that be an issue with children running free in the front and some making a dash toward the door, so we’re really trying to a find a better way to help those parents alleviate that concern about bringing a child to the front to check out,” said Smith. Considine added that the checkouts “will bring value, not only to the patron experience but to the staff workflow.”

The FFL proposed budget will be on the May 15 ballot for district voters.

To find the 2018-19 budget online, visit the library’s homepage at fflib.org.