Cook Memorial Library balances budget

Despite a $14 million construction project and a recession that has government agencies across the country operating in the red, the Cook Memorial Public Library District will have a balanced budget for the next fiscal year.

The Libertyville-based library board on Tuesday adopted a $7.7 million spending plan for the 2010 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

It's only slightly larger than the roughly $7.5 million budget for the current fiscal year, a plan that also was balanced.

Officials were able to hold down projected spending by reducing out-of-state travel, freezing the materials budget and taking other steps, Assistant Director Mary Ellen Stembal said.

A hiring freeze is in effect, too, she said.

"We are holding the line on some (spending)," Stembal said.

The new budget does not include the roughly $11 million Cook Memorial officials will spend in the new fiscal year to build a new library in Vernon Hills and expand the Libertyville library. Much of that money - part of an overall $14 million project that should conclude in August 2010 - was borrowed in the 2008 and 2009 fiscal years.

The board's financial plan for the construction project did not require a tax-rate increase. The loan will be paid off over time with annually generated revenue, officials have said.

"We've been budgeting conservatively for the last several years because we knew we wanted to take on a facility expansion project without a tax increase," board President Aaron Lawlor said. "We've never overextended ourselves. It's not part of our philosophy."

That approach should keep the district financially stable "even in these tough times," Lawlor said.

Because of the construction, Cook Memorial library services will be offered at smaller, temporary sites for the next year. Some programs could be held off-site.

"I'm happy we're able to do as much as we can in light of the fact that we'll be in two temporary locations," Stembal said. "It'll be an exciting year."