The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Library budget, trustee vote Tuesday
ONEIDA, N.Y. »
Library officials are determined to make the Oneida Public Library the best it can be for the community.
“The board works very hard to put together a budget that is responsible and reasonable,” said OPL Board of Trustees president Rick Kinsella.
The proposed 2018-19 budget of $421,481 has a tax levy of $373,481, an increase of 4.94 percent over last year. The library anticipates public funding of $15,000, private funding of $21,000, and library revenue of $12,000 generated by fines and ancillary fees. This will be the library’s second proposed budget increase in five years.
Kinsella stressed that the majority of the budget increase is attributed to library staff, many of whom are skilled workers making minimum wage .“These are the people who enable the OPL to serve the public for 58 hours each week,” he said. “The OPL has two full-time staff and 13 part-time skilled staff members, nine of whom earn the state’s mandated minimum wage. The minimum-wage increases this year and next account for more than a $6,000 increase in the proposed budget.”
There are also some increases to help cover the transition pe- riod when the library moves into its new building, which is scheduled to being construction sometime this summer.
Over the past year, the library has offered several programs to the public, including a heavilyattended summer reading program. Of all the Mid York libraries, Oneida ranked behind only Utica in terms of attendance for its summer reading program, which brought in more than 2,500 patrons.
“With all the challenges faced by the youths in our community, having a first-class library offers a lot of advantages,” said Trustee Bradford Adams. “The library will play a very important role in helping our children succeed.”
After-school tutoring programs are also popular at the library, said OPL Director Michele Ryan. “We’re running out of space for them.”
Other programs offered during the year included Rainbow Reading and Rainbow Eating, a program that paired culinary science with literature; a program for fifth graders to Skype with park rangers from Denali National Park to learn about sled dogs, national parks and more; a solar eclipse viewing that brought more than 1,000 people into the city; the Women’s Voices filmdocumentary series; a Dino Dig, where students
learned about paleontology; and Senior Tax Help.
Ryan said the library is also considering putting together an indie film festival, and is always looking for more community ideas.
“We’re looking for a lot of opportunities like that to bring here,” she said.
There are three can- didates for the Board of Trustees to fill three seats. They are newcomer Gary Taylor and current board members Pat Albaugh and Lillian White.
Taylor, a local businessman who moved here from the Buffalo area, said he’s eager to help the library moving forward. “I think it’s a great opportunity for me,” said the former teacher, who feels being on the library board will allow him to continue connecting with the area’s youths, as well as offer his expertise in building and remodeling.
“I love the library,” said Albaugh, who is also running for a vacant seat on the board. “I think the library is very, very important.”
The library budget and trustee vote will be Tuesday, March 6, from noon to 9 p.m. at the Oneida Public Library, 220 Broad St. The Special Library District shares borders and voters with the Oneida City School District. Absentee ballot applications are available from the OPL for registered voters who will be away from the district on the day of the library vote or are temporarily or permanently ill or disabled. Application forms and instructions for casting an absentee ballot are available at the OPL Circulation Desk, or online at the OPL website.
For more information, call 315-363-3050 or visit www.midyorklib.org/ oneida/.