A lot of the tax money Springdale voters earmarked for the local library could end up in the borough's coffers instead.

In May, voters in Springdale and Cheswick approved a 0.25-mill library tax as a way of shoring up the Springdale Free Public Library's budget. The library serves both boroughs and it is estimated the tax will raise a total of $60,500 for the library.

Voters in Harmar and Springdale Township, which also are served by the library, voted it down and will not pay the additional tax.

Estimates are the tax in Springdale will generate about $35,000 a year for the library.

But the library won't be able to spend that money on new programs or buying books. Instead, according to library administrator Janet Rae Tyree, much of that money will go back to the borough in the form of rent.

For the first time since the library moved into the Springdale Borough Building in 1978, borough council wants to charge the library for its space.

“This all came about because of the referendum,” Tyree said. “Now, because we wanted a sustainable, understandable, knowledgeable amount of money, they just take it.”

Tyree said she's been told the rent could be $1,000 per month ($12,000 per year) if the library handles its own repairs. That would take more than a third of the tax money raised in Springdale.

If the library wants the borough to do maintenance, the monthly rent would be $3,000, or $36,000 per year — $1,000 more than the tax proceeds expected from Springdale, she said.

That amount of rent would equal about 26 percent of the library's roughly $140,000 annual budget.

“I don't think it's right that the people of this community voted to give the library a quarter-mill tax for the library's usage and the borough is somehow funneling it back into their own pockets by charging us rent,” Tyree said. “The people didn't vote for a tax for the borough; they voted for a tax for the library.”

Springdale Council President John Molnar said the borough's attorney is drawing up a rent agreement. He said his understanding is the rent will be $1,000. It is expected to be ready before the borough adopts its 2015 budget in December.

Molnar said Springdale taxpayers have supported the library more than the other communities through its presence in the borough building, which he said is unfair.

Molnar said the borough is trying to recoup costs in a tight budget by charging the library rent. Services the borough provides the library cost money and add up, he said.

Utility costs are at issue.

“Nobody is against the library. It's just a matter of economics,” Molnar said. “There's costs to be borne and the borough of Springdale can't bear them all.”

Tyree said the library's board will discuss the matter in December, and will meet with its lawyer.

“I just don't think what they're doing is right. It's mind-boggling to me,” she said.

Contributions impacted

In addition to losing a portion of its tax money, the library is confronting the loss of annual contributions from Springdale and Cheswick.

Councils in both boroughs opted to stop making annual contributions to the library in light of the tax being collected. Harmar and Springdale Township, where the referendum was defeated, will continue making contributions.

Springdale budgeted $3,000 for the library this year. The library received that check Friday, with about $245 deducted for costs related to the referendum, Tyree said. The borough won't make any future contributions.

Cheswick had included a $2,000 contribution in its 2014 budget but will not pay it, council President Paul Jack said.

The 0.25-mill tax is expected to raise about $25,500 in Cheswick.

Jack said the general consensus of council was “that if we're going to be contributing the amount of money we'll need to contribute as part of that referendum, we're not going to submit (the additional) money this year. We'll just hold it and include it as part of the referendum money in 2015.

“Once you're into making relatively large payments to the library, the whole idea of donations takes on a whole different perspective,” Jack said. “The money comes from the residents. It still comes from the same pot.”

Springdale Township will maintain its contribution at $2,000.

Harmar supervisors are increasing their township's contribution by $500 to $3,500.

Brian C. Rittmeyer is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-226-4701 or brittmeyer@tribweb.com.

TribLive commenting policy

You are solely responsible for your comments and by using TribLive.com you agree to our Terms of Service.

We moderate comments. Our goal is to provide substantive commentary for a general readership. By screening submissions, we provide a space where readers can share intelligent and informed commentary that enhances the quality of our news and information.

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderating decisions are subjective. We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. Because of the volume of reader comments, we cannot review individual moderation decisions with readers.

We value thoughtful comments representing a range of views that make their point quickly and politely. We make an effort to protect discussions from repeated comments — either by the same reader or different readers.

We follow the same standards for taste as the daily newspaper. A few things we won't tolerate: personal attacks, obscenity, vulgarity, profanity (including expletives and letters followed by dashes), commercial promotion, impersonations, incoherence, proselytizing and SHOUTING. Don't include URLs to Web sites.

We do not edit comments. They are either approved or deleted. We reserve the right to edit a comment that is quoted or excerpted in an article. In this case, we may fix spelling and punctuation.

We welcome strong opinions and criticism of our work, but we don't want comments to become bogged down with discussions of our policies and we will moderate accordingly.

We appreciate it when readers and people quoted in articles or blog posts point out errors of fact or emphasis and will investigate all assertions. But these suggestions should be sent via e-mail. To avoid distracting other readers, we won't publish comments that suggest a correction. Instead, corrections will be made in a blog post or in an article.

'American Coyotes' Series

Traveling by Jeep, boat and foot, Tribune-Review investigative reporter Carl Prine and photojournalist Justin Merriman covered nearly 2,000 miles over two months along the border with Mexico to report on coyotes — the human traffickers who bring illegal immigrants into the United States. Most are Americans working for money and/or drugs. This series reports how their operations have a major impact on life for residents and the environment along the border — and beyond.