State Aid to Public Libraries & ARIS Web Blog

The FY2012 State Aid Workshops concluded last week.  At all six of the statewide workshops we noticed some confusion about income and expenditures as reported on the online Financial Report.

Here is an explanation that I hope will be helpful.

INCOME 

All income reported on the Financial Report should only be income to the library–income that the library has control over and may expend. 

Operating 

Appropriated–Money appropriated by the municipality to the library for operations. Two sections: FY2011 and projected FY2012.

Non-Approrpiated–All other non-municipal sources of income to the library for operations. FY2011 only.

Capital

Appropriated–Money appropriated by the municipality to the library for capital.  FY2011 only.

Non-Appropriated–All other non-municipal sources of income to the library for capital. FY2011 only.

EXPENDITURES– during Fy2011 only

Operating expenditures

By the library from its total operating budget (Personnel, Materials, Other).  Sources of income include both appropriated and non-appropriated.

By another town department (Personnel, Other). Expenditures for Personnel and Other only if the money was not expended by the library but by another town department such as HR or DPW.

By the Friends, Foundation or Trustees (Materials only).  Expenditures for library materials by Friends, Foundations or Trustees on behalf of the library.  This section allows the library to count these expenditures to help with the materials expenditure requirement.

Capital Expenditures by the library only.

As always contact me, Dianne Carty, or Ned Richards if you have any questions.

The FY2012 State Aid to Public Library payments will this year again be disbursed in two half payments.  The municipality and its library will receive half of the award after the Board of Library Commissions certifies the municipality and its library.  The second half will be disbursed in the Spring when the Board of Library Commissioners receives the final allotment of the State Aid appropriation.

State Aid applications and print copies of the Financial Report are due with a postmark of October 14th.

The first group of completed applications (libraries meeting all requirements) to be received and vetted at the agency will be presented to the Board of Library Commissioners for approval at their November 3, 2011 meeting.

If all applications (libraries meeting all requirements) are complete and vetted by staff in time for presentation, the second and final group will go before the Board at their December 1, 2011 meeting.

All applicants for a waiver of the FY2012 MAR will be presented to the Board at their January 5, 2012 meeting and the Board will act on all applications at their February 2, 2012 meeting.  The earliest certification date for any library and its municipality requesting a waiver of the FY2012 MAR is February 2, 2012.

Some of the confusion you are experiencing is because the method of deriving your requirement changed a few years back.  After a regulatory hearing with the library community, the regulation changed.

Method to calculate the number of dollars that your library needs to expend on library materials for your patrons to use:

At the beginning of the fiscal year take the total appropriation to your library from your town and multiply it by the percentage that your library (based on the municipality’s population) must expend by June 30.

total municipal appropriation to library x percent requirement = dollars to spend on library materials

$                       x                  %                        =                            $

The dollars are expended from the library’s total operating budget. This means any source of income to the library’s operating budget.

Any questions should be directed to Dianne Carty (dianne.carty@state.ma.us) or Ned Richards (ned.richards@state.ma.us) at the Board of Library Commissioners. 617-725-1860 or in-state 1-800-952-7403.

I can understand why it might be a little confusing, the regulations covering this requirement changed a few years back.

In 2009, after the required regulatory process, including comments from the library community, 605 CMR 4.01(5) was changed as follows:

• the calculation of the requirement–multiply your community’s  municipal appropriation to the library by your percentage requirement (based on the population).  This is the requirement for the current year’s expenditure’s for materials for library patrons to use.  Thus, for Fy2012, multiply the FY2012 municipal appropriation by the required percentage  and that is the target dollar amount that must be expended by June 30, 2012 for materials.
• the population groupings for the materials expenditure and the hours open requirements were made consistent.  Thus the group 2,000 to 4,999 was added.  The percentage requirement for that group is 19.5%.
• language was added,   “All sources of income to the library’s operating budget may be used to meet the materials expenditure requirement.”  605 CMR 4.01(5)

It is important to remember that the Board of Library Commissioners do not have statutory authority to grant waivers of the materials expenditure requirement.  There is however an administrative Accommodation Policy that is reviewed annually by the Board.  This policy has been in place since 2003 and allows a library to be certified in the State Aid program while meeting the materials expenditure requirement at either a 80% or 90% level.  If the accommodation policy is used, the library receives a reduced state aid award.

All materials that are intended for patron use can be counted towards the materials expenditure requirement.  This includes that part of a Network membership that goes for e-content.

As always, Ned Richards and I are available to answer your questions about the State Aid program.

98 North Washington Street, Suite 401
Boston, MA  02114
tel:  617-725-1860 x 222
1-800-952-7403 (in state)
fax:  617-725-0140

Some background first.  The state aid program is an annual voluntary program.  When a municipality and its library apply for state aid and are certified as meeting the statutory and regulatory requirements, the municipality and its library remain certified from one fiscal year state aid application approval to the next approval, unless one of the following four events occurs:

1. The library is closed due to lack of municipal funding—the municipality is decertified as of the date of closing.
2. The library is ineligible to apply because the materials or the hours open requirements are not met—as of January 1 of the application fiscal year, the municipality and its library are no longer certified.
3. The library does not apply– as of January 1 of the application fiscal year, the municipality and its library are no longer certified.
4. A waiver of the Municipal Appropriation Requirement (MAR) is applied for and denied by the Board of Library Commissioners—as of the February of the application fiscal year, the Board of Library Commissioners meeting (usually the third Thursday in the month), the municipality and its library are no longer certified.

Thus, applying these facts to your library:

If the library closes due to the budgetary constraints, decertification is as of the date it closes.

If the library remains open and if you do not apply for FY2012 State Aid, because your municipality and its library are currently certified in the State Aid program, you will remain certified until January 1, 2012.

You indicated to me that the library met the hours open and the materials expenditure requirements in FY2011, therefore you are eligible apply for FY2012 State Aid in October.  Obviously, because you will not be meeting the FY2012 MAR, you would need to apply for a waiver of the FY2012 MAR.  If you apply for state aid and a waiver of the MAR, you will maintain your current certification until at least the 2012 February Board meeting.  Because the reduction in your municipal appropriation is so severe, the likelihood of the Board granting a waiver of the FY2012 MAR Waiver at their February meeting is slim.

One footnote here, in order to be once again certified as meeting the state aid requirements, the library must be open the minimum hours (Labor Day to Memorial Day) and expend the minimum materials expenditure amount (as of June 30)in the fiscal year preceding the state aid application year.