Port Washington library proposes budget in line with tax cap

Voters in Port Washington approved the public library’s proposed budget for 2012-13, which includes a 1.97 percent tax levy increase — under the state’s 2 percent cap.

The budget, which totaled $6,931,628, is a 2.08 percent increase from the current year figure of $6,790,089, according to the budget proposal on the library’s website.

Costs for library materials have decreased over the last three years, the budget outline shows. The library’s 2010-11 budget for materials ranging from books to DVDs totaled $523,000, compared with $477,000 in 2011-12 and $439,000 in 2012-13.

Electronic media, according to the budget, were the only library materials to see an increase in spending in the proposed budget, with traditional paper materials either remaining flat or decreasing.

Library director Nancy Curtin said the library had noticed a decreasing trend in previous years in the use of hard copy reference books and is transitioning to online resources.
Curtin said the increased use of digital reference and reading materials would continue to be monitored as well, to determine future budgets.

“I think it’s something we have to balance each year and see how it’s trending,” she said.

The library is also using some of these funds toward developing a phone app that allows users to check the availability of and reserve books, Curtin said. The app, available for Droids, iPhones and Blackberries, will be live next month.