Hooksett Library trustees told town budget reviewers that their proposed budget is 5% higher than last year but was pared tightly and requires reduced public hours and fewer part-time staff hours to meet the town's default budget limits.

"We are bringing you a budget that is, it's 5% over last year, but I would like to point out that it is $32 less than what we requested last year," Sandra Mack, chair of the Hooksett Library Board of Trustees, said during the town budget review. Mack and library director Heather Rainier said the budget reductions mean the library will open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. instead of 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and staff hours were cut to meet the bottom line.

The change reduces weekly open hours by about 11 hours, Rainier said, and the board described the decision as a last resort after trying to trim other lines. "We really were very thoughtful with going through our budget and trying to look at which items could we cut without causing major impacts to the library and the Hooksett community," Mack said.

Why this matters: library leaders emphasized that Hooksett has no other community center and that the library's programs and public space serve seniors, families and children. Rainier highlighted program activity: one full-time children's librarian and two part-timers provided 338 youth programs to 12,249 children and families in fiscal 2024; adult programming totaled 370 programs with 4,355 attendees.

Trustees said they trimmed multiple operating lines: custodial services rose about 3%, information-technology hardware was reduced by switching staff to laptops and docking stations, and some digital subscriptions were cut for low usage. Library staff monitor digital-resource usage monthly and make renewal decisions on return on investment, Rainier said.

The board confirmed flood remediation and renovation costs were covered by insurance and not by town tax funds. Rainier said the library expects the insurer to subrogate against a third party it believes caused the incident and that trustees have not been told of any immediate premium increases tied to the claim.

On service lines, budget documents show an interlibrary courier line of $5,520 for three-day-per-week delivery within the consortium; trustees said that service expands Hooksett patrons' access from roughly 50,000 local items to about 1.3 million items statewide. Rainier and Mark Liston, assistant director, described the New Hampshire downloadable consortium (Libby) and the challenges of rising ebook and audiobook costs.

Library leaders said most children's programs rely on staff and low-cost supplies and that some adult programs were trimmed where outside presenters proved too costly per attendee. They said volunteers are used for some adult interest groups but cautioned that volunteers working with children must undergo background checks and fingerprinting.

No formal vote on the library budget was taken during the presentation. The meeting record shows the board will follow up with town staff on open questions about other items when staff are available to provide details.

Trustees asked the town reviewers to consider the library's role as a community center when evaluating hours and cuts; they said a third consecutive default budget would require another round of difficult choices.