2023 Budget Request
An Overview of the Operating and Capital Budget Requests
Introduction
PRINCETON PUBLIC LIBRARY is the most trusted public institution in town, a place where everyone is welcome no matter their background or income, a place where all can explore opportunities for personal enrichment and lifelong learning that are foundational for a town built on education and civic engagement.
THE SANDS LIBRARY BUILDING is the busiest public building in Princeton. We’re open 72 hours a week, 355 days a year. An average of 1,500 people visit each day and thousands more utilize our digital services and the free high-speed Wi-Fi that blankets Hinds Plaza every single day of the year.
Operating Budget Request
Budget Overview and Revenues
For decades, we’ve been clear that our ability to transform lives in Princeton is only possible through a combination of consistent public funding supplemented by our own fundraising.
As a government agency, we face the same 2023 budgetary pressure points as the municipality: increased costs of health insurance, fuel and other items that make providing efficient service all the more difficult. For the library, this post-pandemic inflationary period coincided with a growth-focused strategic planning process during which we discovered that while members of the community rate our services as essential, they desire expansion of existing services and development of additional services.
While inflation continues to make budget forecasting more difficult, what hasn’t changed is our commitment to look for new sources of revenue and to expand existing sources of non-tax revenue to support the library’s operating budget.
Our two separate fundraising governance boards merged in 2022 to streamline giving for donors and create internal efficiencies for staff. The Friends and Foundation (F&F) will continue their fundraising efforts in 2023, donating more than $100,000 to the operating budget, which will be used to support the library’s materials budget. F&F has also committed $25,000 to allow us to waive fees and fines for children’s services for a second year.
Other fees provide modest revenue to the library’s budget. Revenue from game and DVD rentals continues to decline as streaming options are highly utilized. We are seeing the level of meeting room rentals slowly climb to pre-pandemic levels.
The estimated endowment distribution for 2023 will be $582,092, 25% of which is restricted to support humanities programs, world language collections, children’s books, reference materials, technology classes and improvements.
Salaries and Benefits
Like almost every employer, we must compete to attract employees in a market where job seekers have increasing options. While we await the construction of new units of housing in our neighborhood and in the Shopping Center area, we continue to review staffing levels and the methods we use to maximize staff effectiveness. When full-time vacancies occur, we evaluate the need, determine whether to employ full- or part-time staff and identify the skill sets required to deliver 21st century library services to a diverse community.
Our full-time employees contribute to health care premiums based on their annual compensation. The State Health Benefits Commission approved a 23% increase on health benefit premiums for local government employees. For the library, this equates to a $120,000 increase in cost over 2022. Additionally, the state increased the percentage of employer obligation paid toward employee pensions, resulting in an increase of about $15,000.
We have budgeted a 2.4% cost of living adjustment for library employees in 2023.
Administrative Expenses
The 2023 operating budget reflects an increase of 3% for administrative expenses. These expenses include items such as supplies, postage, printing, telephone and merchant service fees. While we have been actively managing expenses to avert vendor cost hikes when possible, increases in merchant service fees by credit card processors are not negotiable and continue to escalate. Other costs are rising as the public continues to be increasingly comfortable in indoor spaces. Factoring in the growth of the town and increased demand for our services, we expect administrative expenses to rise to, and ultimately exceed, pre-pandemic levels.
General Expenses
This category includes payroll services, professional development, fees for our attorneys, auditors, insurance and community programming. By making a conscious effort to offset cost increases in other areas of the budget, we have realized an 11% savings in this category over 2022, cutting budgets for community relations, programming and staff professional development.
Building, Equipment and Grounds
We anticipate significant increases in the cost to operate and maintain the 55,000-square-foot Sands Library Building. These costs include utilities, cleaning services and building and equipment maintenance and repairs. Labor costs for service providers, including increases resulting from implementation of the state minimum wage, will continue to rise in 2023. As a result of the current economic conditions, we expect costs for energy, parts and equipment, and contract labor to continue rising in 2023.
When renewing contracts, vendors are presenting new rates with approximately 10% higher increases and we are finding it increasingly difficult to negotiate to keep increases in the 3%-5% range. Our 2019 contract with a third-party supplier of gas was providing a 55% savings compared to market prices during a time of skyrocketing energy costs. However, when that contract was renewed in 2022, the new rate was 50% higher than the previous year, translating to an annual increase of approximately $25,000.
The warranties on the audio/visual equipment for the Community Room, Technology Center and Newsroom have expired. As repeated repairs were required in 2022, a new annual contract to maintain the equipment was negotiated and will increase the budget by $6,500.
We continue to carefully monitor expenditures for building, equipment and grounds by renegotiating contracts with vendors, employing more energy-efficient technology and purchasing energy from resellers, but this has become increasingly difficult in the current marketplace.
Library Materials
While interest in digital collections continues to increase, physical books, particularly children’s books, remain popular. Digital collections are more expensive than their print counterparts and the cost of subscription databases for homework help, research, skills development and entertainment continues to rise annually.
We have balanced the demands of providing materials in multiple formats with a collections budget that has remained mostly flat at about $440,000 per year. However, in 2023 we have made the difficult
choice to reduce our collections budget by 2% to offset other rising budgetary costs. As the cost of digital content rises rapidly — the Big Five publishers increased the price of an e-book by an average of 20% from 2021 to 2022 — we are spending significantly more for substantially less content than in years past. This trend continues to hinder access to collections, with wait times averaging 25% longer and new title purchases 20% fewer than last year.
Technology
The past two years have illustrated the crucial role libraries play in assisting members of their communities who lack access to high-speed internet connections and equipment to fully participate in our connected world. While cellphones are ubiquitous, they are inadequate for the economically disadvantaged people who rely on the library for computing power.
The 2023 budget continues to prioritize the needs of this underserved community, while also making improvements to every aspect of the library user’s experience.
In consultation with the municipal and school district IT departments, training and software to address cybersecurity concerns were implemented in 2022. This crucial software results in an additional annual budget expenditure of $6,525.
The technology budget also includes licensing and hosting fees for our integrated library management system, public computer and print management systems, website and event-management platforms, and network infrastructure and support. As is the case with our other vendors, costs are rising and increases that once were 3%-5% are now around 15%, and vendors are less willing to negotiate than in the past.
Capital Budget Request
As a related piece to our annual operating budget request, Princeton Public Library submits an annual capital budget and five-year capital budget projection. These requests are prepared by the library’s executive director and finance director and reviewed with the board of trustees prior to submission.
Capital investment in the Sands Library Building, which is owned by the municipality and operated under the oversight of appointed trustees, is an investment for the future of a growing Princeton. The trustees are committed to ongoing maintenance and capital investment in the library so it remains central to the life of the community. It’s worth noting that in addition to core library services, Princeton residents look to the library as a gathering place and community center. Additionally, we are the go-to place for those seeking refuge during power outages and extreme weather events.
The 2023–2028 capital budget projections reflect our best thinking on critical replacements and upgrades. Key to the creation of these projections is the understanding that continuing to defer maintenance carries not only financial costs, but can compromise safety, hygiene, accessibility, equity and environmental impact. These costs are based on vendor estimates that include the prices of materials and labor.
We understand that responsibility for improvements to the building does not rest solely with the municipality. For that reason, we have undertaken several capital and endowment campaigns to ensure that library improvements, above and beyond infrastructure replacements, will be supported.
2023 Capital Items Total Cost: $297,500
Priority 1
Technology Replacements & Upgrades ($40,000) — Replace and upgrade tablets, laptops, computers; software upgrades; assistive listening devices; security camera software/hardware upgrades; and network upgrades.
As noted in our operating request, the Sands Library Building is the only public building open seven days a week, year-round, attracting more than 1,500 people a day. Many more people use the high-speed Wi-Fi that covers all of Hinds Plaza, effectively creating a public outdoor work space for residents and visitors.
To continue these crucial services, we need to maintain both our network and security systems. This request includes $20,000 to replace obsolete network storage devices which house the servers that provide internet and public computer access, along with hardware replacements and software upgrades for the security camera system for the entire building. Another $14,000 will replace end-of-life tablets, laptops and computers used by the public and staff. These devices no longer support applications and software the public has come to rely upon and that staff need to provide library services. In keeping with the library’s mission to be an accessible building, this request includes $6,000 to expand availability of assistive listening devices to the second and third floors.
Priority 2
Furniture and Equipment ($82,500) — Replace or repair worn, broken furniture in public spaces, including tables, chairs and displays. Replace AV equipment utilized by/for public. Replace existing rusted terrace furniture.
The library’s meeting rooms, which are heavily utilized for programs and by the public, are equipped with projectors to allow for collaborative meetings and hybrid programs. Three projectors were purchased in 2012 for use in these spaces and are now in need of replacement as the lenses and bulbs are at the end of their life and the projectors are no longer compatible with all types of computers. Replacing these projectors will cost $5,000.
In 2020, $42,500 in capital funds were approved to support repair and replacement of the most worn pieces of furniture on the library’s third floor, which serves children and families in our town. We are requesting an additional $52,000 for the repair and replacement of the remainder of the furniture pieces on the third floor that date back to the opening of the building in 2004. In the past 18 years, the library has had more than 10 million visitors, including young people and families who make the third floor a regular destination. This continuous use has resulted in extreme wear and tear, and while library staff have made temporary repairs to extend the life of this furniture, this method is no longer suitable based on the level of wear and tear. Replacement tables, chairs and displays are needed to allow for collection browsing, side-by-side reading, story time programming, studying, tutoring and computer use.
The library’s terrace is a popular workspace nine months of the year. The existing furniture, also in place since 2004, presents a safety hazard, as it is rusted and patch repairing is no longer a sustainable option. We are requesting $16,500 to purchase four new tables with umbrellas, 16 new chairs, and two new benches.
Additionally, $9,000 is requested to purchase new furniture for a programming space on the third floor dedicated to science and technology learning. (See Priority 3.)
Priority 3
Youth Services Technology Infrastructure & Equipment ($175,000) — Technology infrastructure and equipment for the creation of an equitable programming space dedicated to youth STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) education that supports and supplements the curriculum offered at Princeton Public Schools.
Within the past decade, there has been a significant national movement to implement STEAM curriculum into public schools that supports hands-on, mentor-led learning. These opportunities to experiment, create and innovate through design thinking and project-based learning are integral to preparing students for successful careers in a variety of fields.
Public libraries have always been ideal partners in supporting formal curriculum and participatory learning through shared collections, spaces and technology. Our longstanding partnership with Princeton Public Schools provides after-school programs, visits by staff, free homework help, classroom kits, professional development workshops for teachers, school portal training classes for parents, seamless access to the library’s premium digital e-book collections, research databases and summer reading events.
While we have always supported the learning goals of young people in our community, it has been well over a decade since we’ve been able to make a significant investment in technology infrastructure to support those goals, let alone provide the tools and resources needed to support future goal achievement.
The library is the right place to support and strengthen formal STEAM-based education through community-based learning opportunities. To this end, the library aims to repurpose an existing room into a dedicated STEAM Studio, where exploration, tinkering and invention further develop and cement scientific literacies when schools are not in session, thereby making regular access to STEAM learning accessible and equitable for the entire community. Through regular, direct communication and collaboration with PPS, the library’s STEAM programming will be informed by the project-based learning taking place in the school classroom.
This project will cost $200,000. While the library is requesting that the municipality support this initiative through $175,000 in capital funding, we are committed to seeking private funding sources to cover $15,000 for design and engineering consultation and an additional $10,000 for equipment and supplies.
How municipal capital funds will be used:
• $10,500 for installation of a power solution to provide multiple access points that will support use of equipment throughout the studio.
• $9,500 for installation of new shelving in an existing storage closet.
• $10,000 to purchase a variety of storage bins and carts to secure equipment and materials.
• $145,000 for computer hardware and software, high-tech accessories, low-tech machinery and equipment, supplies and kits that allow for collaborative and individual STEAM-based learning activities and projects.
2024 Capital Items Total Projected: $235,000
Technology infrastructure ($175,000)
Furniture and equipment replacement ($20,000)
Replace 2010 library hybrid car with electric vehicle ($40,000)
2025 Capital Items Total Projected: $354,000
Technology infrastructure ($125,000)
Furniture and equipment replacement ($20,000)
Replace rubber stairway treads ($84,000)
Building improvement: sustainability initiative, electrical upgrades First Floor ($125,000)
2026 Capital Items Total Projected: $550,000
Technology infrastructure ($25,000)
Furniture and equipment replacement ($25,000)
Building improvement: roof replacement ($350,000)
Technology infrastructure: Replace AV equipment in Community Room, Newsroom and Tech Center ($150,000)
2027 Capital Items Total Projected: $285,000
Technology infrastructure ($85,000)
Furniture and equipment replacement ($25,000)
Building Improvement: sustainability initiative, electrical upgrades Third Floor ($125,000)
Painting interior and all exterior surfaces, as needed ($50,000)
2028 Capital Items Total Projected: $90,000
Technology infrastructure ($25,000)
Furniture and equipment replacement ($20,000)
Building improvements: Replace three, 3-ton, 25- year-old EMI and Fujitsu Split System AC units ($45,000)