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Albany Public Library director: $730,000 shortfall and proposed levy increase would preserve services
Summary
Andrea Nicolay, executive director of the Albany Public Library, told the Albany City School District board the library saw a $730,000 drop in fund balance and is asking voters to approve an operating levy increase to maintain seven branches, services and hours; she said the homeowner impact for a $250,000 assessment would be about $40.
Andrea Nicolay, executive director of the Albany Public Library, told the Albany City School District board that the library realized a $730,000 reduction in its fund balance last fiscal year and is asking voters to approve an operating levy increase to preserve current hours and services at all seven branches.
Nicolay told the board that the drop reflected weaker non‑tax revenue streams and rising healthcare and utility costs. “At the end of last fiscal year, we did realize a $730,000 reduction in fund balance due to unfavorable outcomes in that non‑tax revenue,” she said, adding that continued investment is needed to keep digital‑content licenses, programs and staffing stable.
The library director outlined gains in community use — including a 76% increase in intern and volunteer hours, higher room reservations across branches and expansion of the museum and adventure pass program — and said the system has expanded story times in Arabic, Farsi, French and Spanish to support multilingual families.
Nicolay walked the board through a tax‑impact grid that translated the levy proposal into dollars. She said a homeowner with a $250,000 assessed value would see roughly an additional $40 on their library tax next year; she noted the operating budget increase shown as 17% converts to approximately a 14.5% tax impact for that midpoint assessment when combined with debt service.
The presentation also previewed an upcoming trustee election on May 19, concurrent with the district budget vote. Nicolay encouraged community members to view a candidate forum recording and to vote both on the library proposition and the trustee seats.
Board members praised the library’s outreach and asked for clarification about how the operating increase was reported versus the homeowner impact; Nicolay confirmed the 14.5% figure as the projected homeowner change for the example assessment and reiterated that the levy is intended to be a corrective measure to protect services.
Looking ahead, Nicolay said library officials plan to keep future increases under the tax cap and to continue seeking grants for programmatic work that cannot reliably fund salary and core services.
The board did not take a vote on the library proposition during the meeting; Nicolay’s presentation was part of the board’s regular reporting and public outreach ahead of the May 19 vote.
