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Library trustees cite health‑insurance rate changes for budget increase, outline cuts and trustee contributions
Summary
Library trustees presented a needs‑based budget of $1,342,380 and said a Health Trust insurance pool change forced the library to assimilate into the town’s blended rates, creating a primary driver of the increase; trustees identified specific trust funds and friend groups as offsets.
Library Trustees Molly Mortimer and Erin Clement presented the library’s needs‑based budget of $1,342,380 at the Jan. 15 budget session, explaining that a change by Health Trust required the library to return to the town’s blended insurance pool and that this insurance shift accounted for most of the increase.
Mortimer said the trustees reviewed line items and made offsetting decreases where possible, and that trustees plan to contribute from trust funds (Patterson, Lawrence, Carroll and Watson funds) and support from the Friends of the Merrimack Public Library to reduce the tax impact. She said the trustees also plan a pay‑for‑performance plan for nonunion staff with no cost‑of‑living component.
Town staff clarified that the town manager and finance staff had moved the library into the town’s blended insurance rate because the library lacked a separate payroll tax identification number and could no longer qualify for the small‑group pool, which raised the library’s insurance costs. The trustees said program funding adjustments and in‑kind savings (prebought supplies) helped moderate the increase.
Trustees noted a proposed contribution of $18,050 from trust funds and described program creativity that preserves services; they also reminded residents about an upcoming book sale and said copies of budget details would be made available.
