Annual Report and Budget
The 2025 Library Budget and Trustee Vote - Questions and Answers
See the official Annual Report pamphlet as a PDF document.
When will the library vote be held?
The vote will be held on Thursday, April 24, 2025, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the library’s H. Dutcher Community Room. Information about absentee ballots is available from the Library District Clerk, at 518-584-7860, extension 264, or at the library between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. At 7 p.m. on Monday, April 21st, there will be a public hearing on the proposed budget in the H. Dutcher Community Room.
Who can vote?
Any Saratoga Springs City School District resident who is a registered voter is eligible to vote.
What are we voting for?
- Budget: The public will be voting on a proposition to collect $5,443,458 in school district property taxes in Fiscal Year 2025-2026 to operate the Saratoga Springs Public Library. This is a 1.5% increase over FY2024-25.
- Trustee: There are two candidates for two vacancies on the Library’s Board of Trustees. Terence Diggory and Heather Crocker, both of Saratoga Springs, are running for re-election.
What happens if the budget doesn’t pass?
Unlike public school budgets, the law does not allow for any changes if the budget is defeated, and unless the library board decides to hold a second budget vote (highly unlikely), the library would still receive the same amount appropriated in FY 2024-2025. Should the proposed budget not pass, the library board will decide what budget lines and services will be reduced or reallocated.
What will be happening in the coming year?
FY2025-26 will mark the 30th anniversary of the present library building, and the 75th anniversary of the Saratoga Springs Public Library charter. Plans for commemorating these milestones are currently underway, with announcements to come. The year will also begin with the unveiling of a new strategic plan, continuing our focus on four areas: universal accessibility, and the library as a place, a community convener, and a community leader.
In the area of accessibility, the new fiscal year will start with the removal and replacement of the aging elevator, which is anticipated to begin in July and be completed in mid-November. Library staff are currently strategizing how to accommodate library workers and visitors who rely on the elevator for access to the collections and services on the Library’s second floor and lower level, including plans for retrieving materials, temporarily relocating programs, and continuing to expand our outreach services. With staff and services anticipated to temporarily relocate to the first floor, the Friends Coffee Shop will temporarily suspend activity for the duration of construction.
Even with the challenge of being without the elevator for much of the coming year, we anticipate that the library will continue to be a hub of community activity, program attendance will continue to grow, and use patterns for the various formats we make available will continue to evolve.
Saratoga Springs Public Library Proposed FY2025-26 Budget
| FY2024-25 | FY2025-26 | |
|---|---|---|
| Books | $180,000 | $160,000 |
| Magazines and Microfilm | $30,000 | $27,000 |
| Electronic Resources | $160,000 | $170,000 |
| Computer Software | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Audio and Visual Materials | $50,000 | $40,000 |
| Supplies | $47,000 | $50,000 |
| Postage | $10,000 | $11,000 |
| Miscellaneous and Bank Charges | $21,000 | $10,500 |
| Insurance | $75,000 | $75,000 |
| Heat | $12,000 | $15,000 |
| Electricity | $100,000 | $125,000 |
| Phone and Internet | $20,000 | $20,000 |
| Sewer Tax | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Repairs and Maintenance | $100,000 | $120,000 |
| Equipment | $85,000 | $80,000 |
| Conferences and Training | $30,000 | $30,000 |
| Professional Services | $80,000 | $80,000 |
| Printing | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Program Expenses | $65,000 | $75,000 |
| Automation | $115,000 | $115,000 |
| Capital Projects | $800,000 | $500,000 |
| Retirement | $350,000 | $450,000 |
| Social Security | $270,000 | $260,000 |
| Health Insurance | $793,500 | $872,850 |
| Disability Insurance | $5,000 | $3,000 |
| Salaries | $3,433,608 | $3,350,000 |
| Total Operating Budget | $6,862,108 | $6,669,350 |
| Income Other than School District Levy | $1,499,095 | $1,225,982 |
| Required from School District Levy | $5,363,013 | $5,443,458 |
More questions? Contact A. Issac Pulver, Library Director, at 518-584-7860.
Annual Report
A Letter From the Director
As I write this, today is National Library Workers Day, which happens each year on the Tuesday of National Library Week. It is a day to recognize the service to the community and to each other performed by library workers across the country.
“Library work” encompasses many different types of jobs in multiple types of organizations. Locally, some of those organizations include our public libraries, schools, BOCES, and local colleges and universities; the Southern Adirondack Library System, and Mohawk Valley Library System who provide shared services to public libraries across seven counties; and the New York State Library Division of Library Development (DLD), who administer state-wide programs to support summer reading, provide access to news and research databases, and administer efforts like the Public Library Construction Grant Program, from which the Saratoga Springs Public Library has benefitted greatly.
Nearly all of the funding for the workers at the Division of Library Development comes from the Institute for Museum and Library Services, or IMLS, the federal agency that works with libraries, and whose funding, as approved by Congress, comprises about .004% of the federal budget. You might know that IMLS is one of the agencies gutted by a Presidential Executive Order, as a cost-cutting measure. While it is still unclear what direct impacts such a cut might have on our operations, the indirect impacts are certain to be great if the cuts are not restored.
Much of our upcoming fiscal year will be devoted to replacing our aging elevator. Most of the funding for that project was anticipated to come from a New York State Public Library Construction Grant. While the funding for that grant program is part of the state budget, the future of workers at DLD puts the status of that funding in question.
On this National Library Workers Day, I would like to thank not only you, our community, for your support, but all of my colleagues who work to make Saratoga Springs Public Library safe, clean, comfortable and welcoming, and who continue to provide quality programs, services, and collections that regularly earn recognition far beyond our local community. For example, many of our recent initiatives have earned local, regional, and national acclaim, including our “Neurodiversity Club,” for young people, our “Read to Recovery” collection of free books and resources on addiction and grief recovery, and our “Memory Care Creative Writing Groups” for older adults. Similarly, we continue to be a national leader on library sustainability issues.
We have been privileged to repeatedly earn the support of our community for our operations, and are grateful for your continued trust. Your support, expressed by a vote in the Library Budget Vote and Trustee Election on April 24, and membership in the Friends of the Saratoga Springs Public Library, make these vital and important services possible. Your support for the services of the greater network of library services can be expressed by contacting your state and federal representatives with stories about the importance of libraries in our communities.
With gratitude,
A. Issac Pulver,
Director
How did your library serve the community in calendar year 2024?
- Library users borrowed 474,254 items.
- Cardholders downloaded or viewed 94,944 e-books, e-audios, and streaming movies.
- Library staff prepared, presented, and hosted more than 2,680 program sessions for 27,799 participants of all ages, including 723 one-on-one sessions devoted to adult basic education, digital literacy, and English Language Learning.
- 1,716 people attended English Language Learning classes and tutoring sessions with library staff and volunteers
- Library staff made 471 visits to individual homebound residents, senior housing sites, and school classrooms, reaching and serving 6,372 people in locations outside of the library.
- 269,810 people visited the library in 2024
- Librarians answered 43,213 reference questions.
- Users logged 59,393 sessions on library computer and wireless services
- In 2024, library meeting rooms were booked by non-profit community organizations or used on a walk-in basis 944 times.