The library’s tax budget — filed by local taxing authorities each in mid-July — has shown no carry-forward balance at the end of each year for the past several years, Clark County Auditor John Federer said, but the budget commission decided to call the meeting because the budget showed such large amount of money was involved. Tax budgets of public entities are reviewed each year by the auditor’s office and approved by the budget commission.
“We basically just wanted to ask them what that was about,” he said. “They really didn’t have any other answer because they’ve always done it that way.”
However, the library told the News-Sun it’s standard procedure for Ohio libraries not to include carry forward as part of its tax budget, said Melanie Torok, the library’s fiscal officer. After checking multiple records from previous fiscal officers, the document has never been submitted with a carry forward, she said.
“It’s just common practice,” Torok said. “We’re more than willing to adapt if that’s what makes it easier for them to interpret it.”
The library was asked to make changes to its budget and its board of trustees approved changes at a special meeting held on July 24, Torok said.
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The budget commission will meet in its regular session at 10 a.m. Monday at the auditor’s office. The library’s corrected tax budget — which shows at least $10 million in carryover next year, including its general fund and building repair fund — will likely be discussed, Federer said.
The original tax budget filed on June 26 showed large increases in several areas for its general fund budget, including salaries, supplies and materials. It was slated to spend a total of $15.2 million with no money left over, according to public records.
The library’s main source of revenue is state library money and a permanent income tax levy, Federer said. The library is expected to collect about $6.4 million in taxes this year, including $4 million in state library money about $2.4 million from a local levy. Voters approved a permanent 1.32-mill property tax levy in 2010 after the library reduced its hours in 2009 due to state budget cuts.
The auditor’s office noticed the discrepancy with library’s carry forward over the last few years, but decided to speak with the library because it had grown in recent years, Federer said.
“(The budget commission) kind of said it wasn’t really that big of a deal (in the past),” Federer said. “The auditor may say it doesn’t look good, but that’s what they turned in and we let it kind of go at that. … We’re well past chump change.”
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If the reports aren’t done correctly, the fact that that carry forward is out there isn’t readily apparent to the general public, Clark County Prosecutor Andy Wilson said.
“We told them we obviously wanted transparency with what they were doing and told them to correct it,” Wilson said.
The new budget shows $6.9 million in carryover for its general fund and $3.4 million in its building repair fund. The library has also several other endowment funds which are restricted for certain uses, including purchase of materials.
“Hopefully we’ve gotten it straightened out for now and in the future,” Clark County Treasurer Steve Metzger said.
The library spent about $3.4 million on salaries and benefits in 2016. In this year’s tax budget, the library was budgeted to spend about $6 million on salaries, but showed that number dropping back to about $3.5 million in 2018.
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The revised budget shows total salaries budgeted for $3.4 million in 2017 and $3.6 million in 2018.
“If Joe Taxpayer off the street looked at that, he would say, ‘That doesn’t look right’,” Federer said. “That’s why we did it.”
The mission of the budget commission — which includes the county auditor, county treasurer and county prosecutor and meets about four times annually — is to make sure the expenditures of public entities don’t exceed revenue, Federer said.
The library operates a main library, four branches and bookmobile with about 80 employees, including 47 full-time. It has a total circulation of about 1.16 million items.
Clark County’s main branch in downtown Springfield is nearing the completion of a $2.6 million renovation that included a new entrance and other updates, such as new restrooms and carpet.
Earlier this month, the New Carlisle Public Library began asking local governments to support increasing its share of the state’s public library funding to help it expand hours and services after the Clark County Public Library denied its request because it believes the current split is fair.
Clark County Commissioners discussed working on alternative means to share funding, but no agreement has been reached, Clark County Commissioner Lowell McGlothin said at last week’s meeting.
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By the numbers
80: Employees at the Clark County Public Library, including 47 full-timers.
$6.4 million: State and local tax money the library is expected to collect this year.
$10 million: Amount of money the library is expected to have in its budget at the end of this year.
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