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Metro Council’s Proposed Library Millage Rededication: Home

Preliminary Summary

The Metro Council is considering a Proposition to Rededicate 1 mill of the Library’s current dedicated tax and extend this new millage rate out over 10 years. We have just started the work to project out the budget and analyze operational expenses and scheduled capital projects over the next 10 years to determine the impact. This effort still needs to be studied more carefully. However, an initial review shows the Library in the red by year 2029 under the proposed, reduced millage. Due to the reduced funding, we would need to scale back on services, programs and projects by 2024. The Library is willing to help with drainage but it should be in a manner that will not jeopardize public services or cause indefinite delays or massive cuts to capital projects. A 9.5% cut over 10 years would result in major changes in what the Library can provide.

Analysis of the Rededication Proposition as of July 26, 2021

Millages and the funding cycles that allow agencies to operate are complex. So are the government accounting practices and the procedures that support them, and these can often be difficult to interpret. Understanding the dynamics of a millage cycle, and the actual function, composition, and meaning of items such as the Fund Balance can be demanding, and it is often easy to misinterpret what they are reporting.

The Library has taken the time to review the Rededication Proposition and create new projections that show the ramifications of such a reduction in library funding over the next ten years. These budget projections are based on a formula from the city-parish, and calculations have been reviewed by the Finance Department and external partners. It is based on the new proposed ten-year millage cycle in the rededication plan.

The 1.0 millage reduction level proposed in the rededication plan results in damaging cuts to the Library’s services. A 1.0 millage reduction for the Library over the course of ten more years will mean:

  • A 1.0 millage reduction will mean a reduction of at least 50 to 65 positions, depending on the mixture of the various types of positions vacated. This will probably amount to around 48 FTE’s. This is the equivalent of the entire staff of a regional branch plus more than half the staff of a community branch. We will try to absorb these losses through attrition starting in 2023. It is possible that closer to the end of the millage cycle we may need to reduce staffing by another dozen or so positions.
  • Losses of this level of staffing will result in the reduction of public service hours. Currently, all library branches are open 7 days per week to provide access to the widest range of citizens. It is difficult to come up with a complete plan at this point, but we would make cuts across the system affecting ALL libraries. Possible closures would involve one evening a week and an additional significant block of time, such as closures on Fridays.
  • Many of our costs are fixed costs or are not significantly reduced by incremental cuts in operations. Services such as Wi-Fi are set at a service rate, and are not dependent on hours of operation; grass grows and must be cut; chillers, boilers, and roofs must be repaired or replaced as the needs arise. Database licenses are based on service area population, not revenues. Inflation marches on, even at modest levels, and supplies and services rise in cost over a ten-year period.
  • More than 1,000 programs and instructional sessions would be cut each year; outreach visits to preschools, learning centers, schools, and independent living centers would be reduced. Civic and community groups who depend on library meeting space would be impacted. Because of cuts to hours of service, access to technology would be reduced.
  • Because the Pay-As-You-Go funds would be depleted, some planned and promised capital projects would either be delayed, reduced in scope, or not occur. These projects include: Central, Delmont Gardens, Zachary, Carver, Pride-Chaneyville, and Eden Park.

Resolution of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library Board of Control

Important Information Regarding the recently announced Library Millage Rededication Proposition:

Members of the Metro Council have put forth a proposition to rededicate 1 mill of the Library’s current dedicated tax, and extend out the time period for the tax by 10 more years. The Metro Council will vote on the Library Millage Rededication Proposition on Wednesday July 28, 2021. A “YES” vote by 7 members of the Metropolitan Council means that the Rededication Proposition will go to the voters on November 13, 2021. The Library is currently operating at 10.52 mils, rolled-back from the original 11.1 millage approved by the voters in 2015. A “YES” vote in November would reduce the Library’s millage down to 9.52 mils and extend the millage period out until 2031, instead of our current cycle which ends in 2025. This would result in a reduction of over $ 48 M over the next 10-year period.

The Library has begun the process to analyze how a loss of $ 4.8 M per year over the next 10 years will impact services, programs, hours, and capital projects. Factors to consider:

  • Fund Balance: this is not a fixed savings account of “cash on hand”. This is not accumulated money without purpose; it is instead, a working fund that supports important needs and plans. Fund Balance includes the amount of anticipated funds reserved for next year’s operating costs plus the amount saved over time to support committed projects.
  • Pay-As-You-Go Plan, which funds ALL Library capital projects. With the Pay-As-You-Go Plan, projects are paid in full, with no bonds or indebtedness. Currently, there are 3 capital projects underway for Baker, Scotlandville, and South Branches. Future projects are scheduled for Central, Delmont Gardens, and Zachary branches. The Plan also supports the addition of two new branches in North and South Baton Rouge which would be smaller express branches focused on core services.
  • Ten-Year Millage Cycle: We typically set aside and allocate Funds in Fund Balance during the first 5-6 years of the Millage to be dedicated towards planned capital projects. During the last part of the cycle, these funds are drawn down for capital projects. We are about to enter this final phase of our normal, 10-year millage, which was approved by the voters in 2015.
  • Impact of newly reduced millage over the next 10 years: The initial review indicates we would have a substantial cash deficit by year 2029. Annual operating shortfalls would occur several years earlier.
  • Cuts or delays to hours, services, content, and projects over the 10-year period to reduce that deficit.

We have just started the work to project out the budget and analyze operational expenses and scheduled capital projects over the next 10 years. As of press time for The Source newsletter, this effort still needs to be studied more carefully. However, an initial review shows the Library in the red by year 2029 under the proposed, reduced millage. Due to the reduced funding, we would need to scale back on services, programs and projects by 2024. The Library is willing to help with drainage, but it should be in a manner that will not jeopardize public service or cause indefinite delays or massive cuts to capital projects. A 9.5% cut over 10 years would result in major changes in what the Library can provide.

Information and updates including a detailed overview of the Library’s Fund Balance and new Budget Projections will be posted here. We will have a more detailed response regarding potential cuts to services after we have a chance to examine this more thoroughly.

Please share your thoughts and concerns with the Library by emailing the Library directly to PublicInformation@ebrpl.com or the Library Board of Control at BoardOfControl@ebrpl.com. Additionally, you may contact the Metro Council at metrocouncil@brla.gov.

Fund Balance

FUND BALANCE: It’s important to remember that FUND BALANCE is not a fixed savings account; rather, it includes the amount saved over time plus the amount of anticipated funds for next year. This is not accumulated money without purpose; it is instead, a working fund that supports important needs and plans. Our current Fund Balance includes $ 50,000,000 for next year’s operating fund, plus $ 25,443,483 for committed capital projects, $ 3,000,000 for future capital projects, and $ 12,500,000 for contingency reserves for emergencies. We must also consider funding for Carry Forwards and other future projects that will soon be encumbered.

The Library’s original Millage was set up so that we always collect the millage ahead of the year we expend the funds. That collection stays in Fund Balance until the next year, when we start to draw it down. Thus our “reserve” actually includes all of next year’s operating budget.

Surplus Funds are gained for FUND BALANCE via Annual Property Tax plus Salary Savings for unfilled positions (currently 92; around 70-100 at any given time) plus savings realized when purchases come in under budget (due to good bids, state contract, etc.), interest earnings, growth rate above the rate anticipated by Finance, etc.

Fund Balance Extended out 10 More Years