Norwin library tax issue comes to head

When voters in North Huntingdon, Irwin and North Irwin go to the polls May 15, they will be asked to decide again whether they want to support the Norwin Public Library through a 1-mill tax.

By referendum, a 1-mill tax was levied in 2000 for residents of the three communities to maintain the library. This was added to the 0.2 mills adopted about 30 years ago.

A yes vote to the ballot question will support the repeal and a negative vote will support the library tax.

The issue is before voters again because of the efforts of a group of citizens who are not in favor of the tax. This group -- called the Norwin Taxpayers Group -- signed petitions and presented them to the county election bureau. Initially, the group had tried to get the question on the November ballot. However, the petition was rejected by county commissioners, who cited a requirement that the referendum proposal must be submitted through the school district.

In August 2004, a 16,000-square-foot library opened along Caruthers Lane in Irwin, replacing the 65-year-old, 8,800-square-foot building at 299 Third St. in Irwin.

In 2006, the 1.2-mill levy amounted to approximately $416,000 for the library.

John H. Wilson, business manager for the Norwin School District, said the lion's share of that money came from North Huntingdon at an estimated $378,000. Irwin contributed an estimated $34,000 and North Irwin contributed an estimated $4,000.

The average annual contribution per property is $28.51 for North Huntingdon, $27.08 for Irwin and $12.89 for North Irwin, Wilson said.

As May 15 approaches, both sides are striving to inform voters about their point of view.

Those who log on to norwinpubliclibrary.org find the following message: "Vote No on May 15th to keep our library open! A group of area residents has vowed to repeal 1 mill of the 1.2 mill tax, which passed through referendum in 2000 and is the lifeline of the library. All public libraries rely on local support to function. Without this important investment from our community, our future is doomed."

In its 2006 annual report released in early April, the library lists its total revenues at $728,177. This figure includes $131,641 from the state, $8,017 from Westmoreland County Federated Library System, $69,538 in public and private grants/contributions and $10,589 from the United Way.

The library also lists its staff members, including five full-time employees and 10 part-time employees, with annual staff salaries, wages and insurance at $206,031. An additional $41,299 administrative fee went toward part of the library director's salary and paying for the services of private contractor Robert S. Thornton, who is the library's business manager/accountant.

"Anyone who says how do we spend our money, they can look at our Web site," Thornton said. "They can look at our annual report, which includes not only dollar figures, but statistics."

Thornton said the library currently owes $1,356,000 on its $1,750,000 mortgage. Thornton said the library is about two years into the 20-year mortgage. Monthly the library pays $11,226, which includes principal and interest, he said.

All proceeds from sale of the Third Street location, which amounted to $130,422, went toward the mortgage principal in 2005 and the library made an additional payment in 2006 when it came in under budget, said Diana Falk, library director.

"One of the rumors is we're hoarding all sorts of money because we want to keep the mortgage and therefore keep the tax, and that's not true," Falk said. "The library is certainly cognizant of the fact that the sooner we pay down the mortgage the better for everybody."

If the 1-mill tax is repealed, the library would be left with the 0.2 mills of support, which Falk said would total approximately $68,000.

"The mortgage payment per year is double what would be left in local tax effort," Falk said.

"Obviously, when we received the local support in the form of the referendum going from 0.2 to 1.2, our board, our library took that as an affirmation of long-term commitment on the part of the community and obviously acted accordingly," Thornton said.

"It's just a little disquieting when you enter into a long-term commitment such as we did and then find there are ... a certain number of people who then want to revisit that commitment," Thornton said. "And we've already went out and acted based on the fact that it's going to be long-term."

Mary Lou Patterson, of Irwin, who gathered petitions for a new referendum, feels voters were misled in 2000.

"The library in 2000 put out a flier that said 'Save the Norwin Public Library,'" Patterson said. "Myself and a number of other people felt we were going to be given a tax for a year to save the Norwin Public Library.

"Nowhere did it say they were building a new, state-of-the-art library," she added.

Bill Caruthers, a member of the board of trustees for the library, said it was no secret that prior to the referendum vote the library was pursuing options.

"I thought we were very upfront about what we were looking at," said Caruthers, pulling out clippings of newspaper articles from 1999 and 2000 stating the library was considering options including renovations to the old location as well as a new building.

"I do get upset when they say we sort of pulled a fast one here and misled them," Caruthers said. "Nobody tried to mislead anybody."

Patterson said she believed the tax to be a one-time deal and was not aware of the literature available in the polling place that offered more details on the referendum question.

Since then she has obtained a copy of the "Plain English Statement," which states the following:

= The funds raised by the establishment of this tax can only be used for the maintenance of the Norwin Public Library and no other purpose.

= The money so raised shall be in the exclusive control of the board of library directors.

= The 1-mill tax will be an annual tax and can be increased by the Norwin School Board without submission of a question to the voters.

When asked if the school board can raise the tax without taxpayer approval, Wilson said the district was recently given information from the county that indicated the district could raise the library tax rate without voter approval.

"Prior to this communication, the district was unaware that we could increase the tax. We are currently reviewing this information with our solicitor to see if it is accurate," Wilson said.

Patterson, a former Irwin councilwoman who lives next door to the old library, said she thought she was saving that library.

"How many people actually read this in the polling place?" Patterson questioned. "I know I didn't. I didn't even know this was in the polling place."

Falk, who has been with the Norwin library for almost two years, said: "It wasn't an overnight decision to say let's get a referendum and get a new library. That's not how it transpired. They looked at what was going on at the old building, looked at their past fundraising efforts and past financial supports and the board tried to access what is the best way of moving forward.

"When they went to the voters for the referendum, it was sort of a two-part crisis. The library was struggling to meet state-aid standards financially for years, and they really were just dipping below, dipping below and were in jeopardy of losing the state aid," Falk said. "In combination with that, supporting the old building was becoming difficult because of a deterioration."

In addition to the former post office building not being accessible to people with disabilities, Falk cited a mold problem in the children's room, an inability for the building to be upgraded for technology and insufficient space, leaving a "big part of the collection in storage."

"It was half of the building we're in now," Falk said.

Falk said the state standards require a library to have 1.5 books per capita.

"They took a look at how much money would be necessary to expand services and went to the voters and asked for the additional mill," Falk said. "When we won the referendum, the board started seriously pursuing what would it take to renovate Third Street and when it became clear that wasn't going to be possible, they looked at different locations around downtown Irwin and around the area."

Patterson finds exception with the location the library settled on as well, noting the property had 10 co-owners, including Caruthers and Diane Brentzel, who was then and still is on the board of trustees.

After hitting a snag with a proposed site near Norwin Senior High School, the library's board of trustees selected the site on Caruthers Lane in Irwin. The land was purchased for $125,000, Falk said.

"We looked at numerous sites," said Caruthers, adding the board was trying to keep the library in downtown Irwin, if possible.

"When our consultant from the Carnegie Library told us for our population and size of community the recommended minimum square footage, we couldn't find any place in downtown Irwin that would meet that requirement," Caruthers said.

"We were really, at that point, stuck," Caruthers recalled.

"To be quite honest, we were reluctant to suggest this property because we said people are going to raise a fuss. And we were really at that point looking at -- where else can we do this?" Caruthers said. "I said as long as we make full disclosure of everything, we'll abstain from voting on it, which we did. As a matter of fact we left the meeting and let them vote."

John Bales, of North Huntingdon, said he's disturbed by the way the whole thing came about.

"I elect the school board. I don't elect this group of 15 people," Bales said. "They're not accountable to me whatsoever. Where I come from, I object to a half a million dollars a year being spent by an unelected, unaccountable group of people."

Caruthers pointed out other essential service providers such as water, sewage and recreation boards and authorities also have non-elected governing bodies.

"Two of the board members of the library are appointed by the Norwin School Board, an elected body," Caruthers said. "All our financial records are audited annually and filed with state and federal government."

Additionally, the monthly board meetings, held at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of the month, are open to the public. Caruthers explained new members are elected during the annual membership meeting held in April and terms last for three years.

Although most members are from North Huntingdon, there are members from each community the library serves, Caruthers said.

Library officials stand firm that if the tax is repealed, the library will eventually close.

"This library is going to close," Falk said. "That's not in doubt. It won't be on May 16, but once we have to start cutting services it's not a matter of a few stopgaps here and there."

"I can tell you as an accountant and a financier that there's no exaggeration in Diana's statement," Thornton said. "This isn't some scare tactic that we're just saying in order to get people to vote the way we want them to."

If the tax is repealed, Falk said it will affect every area of service.

"Starting in 2008, services will be cut and it will be a slippery slope from there," Falk said. "It's just math. You take away 60 (percent) or 65 percent of our funding, and that number jumps considerably if you factor in the state funding. It's not a matter of cutting a little bit here and a little bit there. This building cannot be sustained."

The local funding threatens the state's contribution, said Falk.

"We must raise $5 per capita for local financial effort and a large part of that is obviously stable municipal funding," Falk said.

Right now the library receives approximately $12 per capita, Falk said.

Take away the 1 mill and it goes to 0.2, bringing it down to $68,000 a year, which is about $2 per capita, Falk said. "We would have to make it up through a myriad of other fundraising activities and whether or not we could do that would be the question."

Falk added, "This issue really isn't about the state funding because this library is going to close. Keeping our state funding will staunch the bleeding, but it won't save this library."

Patterson and Bales do not believe the library will close if the tax is repealed.

"That's propaganda as far as I'm concerned," Patterson said. "They're still going to get the 0.2."

Pulling out a brochure on state funding requirements he obtained from the Norwin library, Bales said the library only needs $5 per capita, so he doesn't buy that the state funding will be threatened.

But Falk is quick to point out it isn't simply about the money.

"I think our repealers would like to make this about state funding and it's not," Falk said. "It's about this building and the commitment the library made to our community, saying this 1 mill will provide a certain level of service -- not this is the very minimal amount needed to squeak by. I mean we don't tell our kids that -- just get some D's and I'll be happy -- that's kind of that argument in my mind."

She also said the library is required to provide a certain service level as well.

"We have to have a certain collection size. We have to spend a certain percentage of our budget on the collection. We have to maintain a certain staff size. We have to be open a certain number of hours. So even if we did keep our state funding -- again that would be very difficult to do -- maintaining all those levels. So the state funding is absolutely in jeopardy. Would we lose it this year or next year• I'm not sure, but it is in jeopardy and even if we manage to keep it, it would not be enough to maintain this library."

Since the library moved to the new building, every area of service has been impacted in a positive way, said Falk.

"I think the technology is the most remarkable," said Falk, explaining the library has 30 computers and offers free computer classes.

The building also features a community room, private study rooms, a children's library and a young adult area.

"We've just been able to accommodate so many people for our programs," Falk said. "Fortunately, with our wooded setting and the extra space, we've been able to bring the kids outside of the library and demonstrate how education occurs through experience as well as books."

This spring, the library added Sunday hours, bringing operations to 56 hours a week, seven days a week,

The library circulated a total of 127,025 materials in 2006, according to its annual report. Outreach efforts include a home delivery program for patrons who are unable to visit the library as well as visits to preschools by the children's library coordinator who shares stories and songs to promote early literacy skills.

Patterson, who admitted she's never been to the new library, objects to many of these programs and services.

"It's not a library. It's a community center," said Patterson, adding she feels a library should provide books and not programs such as the monthly movie nights for children with snacks.

Kathy Razey, of North Huntingdon, is not an avid library goer right now, but she expects to be using the library more in the coming years since her 5-year-old son Joshua will be going to kindergarten in the fall.

"Now that he's going to be starting school that's going to be a very good asset for us," Razey said.

Razey said she will be casting a negative vote to support the library.

"It's a beautiful facility," Razey said. "I would really hate to see it close down."