Statement from Montague Public Libraries Director on Cost Implications for the New Main Library Building Project
Hi everyone,
There’s been a lot of online chatter about the perceived costs of the Main Library Building Project. With the goal of providing the community with accurate information from which voters can make an informed decision, I gave Montague’s Town Accountant a call this morning, confirmed some numbers, and got a helpful pie chart! In the following, I’ll discuss the debt environment, the spectre of overruns, and the cost of operating the new facility, should it pass June’s vote.
Debt falling off the books: Debt from Montague’s high school will retire this year and debt from the public safety complex will retire at the end of FY28. With both these projects coming off the books before the library project is bonded for, the impact of the new taxes will be dampened.
Cost overruns: Several people have commented that the town’s share of the Main Library Building Project will likely cost more than the estimated $12.4 million dollars because of overruns. This assumption flies in the face of past precedent. Montague’s DPW facility ultimately cost $9.86 million dollars, coming in $1.24 million under budget. Similarly, Greenfield’s library came in $1.6 million dollars under budget. Projects like these require careful contingency planning and, indeed, the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program requires it. The estimated cost of our project includes $1 million dollars in contingency funds to cover unexpected costs, which will be returned to the taxpayers if it is not used.
Building operations: It bears repeating that the Main Library’s operating costs are estimated to increase by $27,126 to $48,230 annually. This range depends on the size of the solar array that could be installed on the roof and how much energy the building would use. Using targets for libraries defined by MassSave, the project architects estimated that the solar array would be able to offset 33% to 50% of the building’s energy costs.
(A quick aside: Several people have commented that Deerfield’s library addition has come with hefty electric bills. This is because Deerfield doesn’t yet have a solar array, but thanks to a recent town meeting vote they soon will.)
Included in this range are all heating and cooling costs associated with the proposed air-to-water hydronic system as well as a part-time,12 hr/wk, Library Assistant who would cover the children’s desk on nights and Saturdays, and 8 additional hours of custodial work per week.
This range amounts to a 5% to 8% increase in the libraries’ budget, a 0.01% increase in the town’s FY25 budget, and would cost less than $10 per year for the average taxpayer.
Charts galore: It is true that if both the Main Library Building Project AND the Tech School projects pass that the town will temporarily leave the green zone of targeted debt amounts. But this would only be the case for a few years. See the Debt Service Ratio chart. And to put the costs of the project into perspective within the context of the town’s total expenses, Angelica made this handy pie chart.
Thank you for going on this financial explanation journey with me. As a library science student, fifteen years ago, I never imagined I would think this much about debt exclusions! If you have any questions that I don’t know the answers to, I’ll pass them along to Angelica and provide her answer.
For a reminder of all the accessible spaces, resources, materials, programs, Library of Things items, and services that this new Main Library building could provide, check out the building project page here.