Library’s MOU with Town Must Outline Sustainability Plan

Did you know you were already a donor to the library? I certainly didn’t until recently. My naïveté even extended to the fact that our library is owned and operated independent of the town, by a not-for-profit foundation.

Despite not being owned/operated by the town, New Canaan taxpayers currently pay 75% of the operating costs of the library as per a longstanding agreement between the town and this independent foundation. In addition to covering costs, library employees get town healthcare and until recently a town pension.

Since 1996, the taxpayers of New Canaan have given the independent non for profit that owns and operates the library in excess of $40 million. In 1996, the taxpayer’s annual contribution was $1.13 million and as of 2019, that contribution has increased to $2.6 million, not counting heath care expenses. Over the past four years, this non-profit’s costs have grown 5% on average and since 1996, the library’s annual operating expenditure per capita has increased 186%.

What is equally troubling, is that costs continue to grow despite a decline number of registered borrowers, data show. As per this foundation’s own public records, the total number of library visits has declined to 213,000 in 2019 from 365,000 people in 1996 yet the population of New Canaan continues to grow. You might say, well with a new library, this will reverse the trend. Darien’s recent experience is illuminating. Since building a new library in 2009, the town of Darien has experienced an 11% decline in library visitors, and the costs associated with the Darien library have increased 29% since 2009.

I support education, learning and especially books. The excitement of a new book is hard to match. Having been a treasurer of a local nonprofit, I understand the energy that the entire team needs to put forward to raise funds and operate a successful non for profit. But as a taxpayer of New Canaan, I would prefer to donate directly to a cause and not indirectly. Taxpayer funds should be not be used to fund foundations. I should have the choice on where to donate.

Yet here we are at a turning point. The independent nonprofit that owns and operates the New Canaan Library is asking the taxpayers of New Canaan for a minimum of $10 million dollars which will certainly increase our mill rate, and need to be bonded despite a deep recession. And this foundation’s expectation is that New Canaan’s taxpayers continue to continue to fund the library’s day-to-day operations.

As we are now in a deep recession, it is time to be practical and prudent. The independent not-for-profit that owns and operates the New Canaan Library must be able to stand on its own. If this non-for profit has raised the $16 million as they report, they should be able to fundraise sufficiently to meet their annual operating expenses without dependency on further government largesse.

I am proposing that this gift of $10 million be the last donation. The MOU in front of the Town Council should require the independent foundation that owns and operates our library to outline within three years how they will be become self-sustaining like every other non for profit, as well as question why the final design fails to incorporate the original 1913 structure. With project costs now exceeding $35million, no expense for the renovation appears to have been spared. A smaller space one which supports all the interests of the town including the 1913 library would be more practical and make it easier for the library to take on full responsibility for the new library’s entire operating costs going forward.

Let’s make sure that the MOU outlines a sustainability plan, provides New Canaan’s taxpayers with an annual statement of the library’s annual operating expenses, and a more practical approach to a new library structure.

Jennifer Holme