The numbers behind the words

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

Glen Seely and John Hartung both believe the Community Library Network's budget speaks volumes about the district's priorities.

Hartung, the district's director, and Seely, a former board member of the district who has been critical of its spending in recent years, just disagree on how the funds are allocated.

The Community Library Network has libraries in Post Falls, Hayden, Athol, Spirit Lake, Rathdrum, Harrison and Pinehurst and a bookmobile. The Coeur d'Alene Library is a part of the city of Coeur d'Alene and is not part of the network.

The Library Network is mostly funded by local property taxes and is a taxing district just like cities, the county and schools, highway and fire districts. It holds a public hearing on the budget each August before it is approved.

Hartung said he thinks any financial impacts to the library district under President Donald Trump’s leadership will be indirect because the district relies mainly on local property taxes for funding.

"If the Idaho Commission for Libraries loses funding, we may have to reallocate resources in our budget for some programs that the Commission provides to us such as Read to Me," he said, referring to the program that makes books available to young children. "Databases that the Commission provides to all libraries may also be affected. There's certainly concern."

Seely said he thinks a change in national leadership can become a scapegoat for taxing district officials to express fear for the future of programs funded at the local level.

"A lot of people are up in arms about what Trump is doing," Seely said, adding he doesn't see how the leadership change could affect the Library Network much.

Seely said he believes more library district funding should be spent on books and materials, and too much is spent on salaries.

The Community Library Network received more than $4 million in local tax revenue for the current budget. Nearly $3 million of that was spent on salaries for the district's 90 employees. A total of $435,000 was spent on books and materials and $30,734 on e-books in a separate budget line item.

"Most of the money goes to salaries," Seely said. "The percentage of tax dollars spent on salaries is woefully extravagant compared to the amount that is spent on books."

Hartung said there's a reason why salaries consume a big chunk of the budget.

"We are a service industry, so our staff is our main product," Hartung said. "You could have a library with all the books you want, but if you have no staff, you have no library."

Hartung said the demand for the district's adult and youth programs — sensory story time for children, for example — is increasing and such programs have required additional staff over the years.

"I'm very proud of the services we provide and believe taxpayers are getting a good return on their money," he said.

Seely said Hartung's salary of $99,840 seems high for a library director, but Hartung said that's the result of being on the job for 37 years, and the number is comparable to other library administrators across the state.

"I don't believe that I'm overpaid for the amount of work that I do," Hartung said. "I don't believe I've stagnated. I continue to take continuing education courses all the time."

The top five salaries in the district total $403,000, which is nearly the amount spent for the current year on books and materials.

Seely said he wishes more local residents would turn out for the public hearing on the library network budget held each August because the district has taken the full 3 percent property tax increase allowable under law every year in recent memory.

He said he's been one of the few people who have scrutinized the decisions.

Tax revenue for the Library Network increased from about $2.9 million in 2011 to the roughly $4 million in the current budget.

"Don't you wish your income had grown so much (36 percent)?" Seely said. "The Community Library Network is extremely well-funded."

Seely also noted the total salaries line item increased 56 percent ($1.9 million to nearly $3 million) during that time. About three-quarters of the tax income is going toward salaries today, whereas the percentage was 65 percent in 2011.

Hartung said the tax hikes have been needed for maintenance and to meet the demand for an increase in adult and youth programs. The increase in demand for services, he said, increases the need for staff.

"The number of people attending our programs, checking out our materials and our population are all growing," he said.

Hartung said the district would like to spend more than the 11 percent of tax revenue it’s now spending on materials.

"Is it enough?" he said. "No, it isn't. I'd love to spend twice that, but we have to balance other things. You need to have a well-trained staff to provide a service when the patrons come in."

Hartung said the district has increased the amount it spends on books and materials each year in recent years. The amount spent for e-books has remained about the same.

"We could spend more on e-books, and we're planning to do that," he said.

While there's still a big demand for e-books, Hartung said the rise has plateaued.

"The people who like to read on their Kindle, computer or iPhone have found out about us," he said.

Hartung said the district has become much more than checking out books and materials to the public. It assists people with resumes, for example. He said during the Great Recession it also assisted folks who filed for unemployment. He used an example of a welder who had never used a computer before and was pointed in the right direction.

"We're proud of the staff we have and I'll justify the salaries that we pay them to anybody," Hartung said. "Our product is customer service."

Seely, an avid reader and library user, said he's not bashing libraries. He just believes the ship needs to be straightened on how funds are spent and there should be some control over how much is asked of local taxpayers.

"The library (district) needs to be like the taxpayer paying the bill and learn to live within its means," Seely said. "We all want good things in our lives, but sometimes we just can't afford them."