Politics & Government

Library's Tentative Budget Allows for Extended Hours

The New Lenox Public Library Board passed the tentative budget Monday night and could finalize it next month.

Increased property tax revenue and some savings on heath care and retirement money have the library in a position to extend hours for the first time since 2001.

On Monday, the New Lenox Public Library Board passed its tentative 2011-12 budget. It must be finalized at the board's September meeting for the current budget year, which began July 1. Director Kate Hall said some minor cuts and an increase in revenue , which were agreed upon earlier this summer with the help of a community survey.

"It's just a little bit here, a little bit there, and we're able to have those hours," Hall said.

Find out what's happening in New Lenoxwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The library moved into its building on the Village Commons in 2001, and within one year had to cut operations on Fridays and Sundays because of a lack of funding.

About 98 percent of the library's $1.6 million budget comes from property taxes. The library collects about $2.4 million in taxes annually, but $900,000 of that is used to pay off bonds for the building. That will continue through 2018, at which point the amount of taxes the library levies will drop even more.

Find out what's happening in New Lenoxwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Hall said that the library will receive about $50,000 more in property taxes this year than in 2010-11. The library will also see a drop in expenses for health care (saving $35,000), its retirement fund (saving $12,000) and by switching maintenance to in-house (saving about $7,500).

See the tentative budget ordinance to the right of this article, attached as a PDF.


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