2022 Budget
2022 Adopted Budget Information
On December 2, the Erie County Legislature adopted a 2022 County Budget with amendments. The Legislature-approved amendments did not change the County Executive’s 2022 Proposed Budget allocation for the Library Fund.
The 2022 Operating and Grants Budget sustains library operations and services. Further, it incorporates the impacts of contractually obligated costs related to current labor agreements, a New York State minimum wage increase, and those approved for unrepresented and managerial/confidential employees via previous Board Resolutions. Current agreements provide for modest wage adjustments as well as employee contributions towards the cost of health care and provisions limiting the employer share of both active and retiree health care costs over the longer term. In adopting this budget, the Library Board changes the use of fund balance, increasing it by $650,000: $400,000 to support non-recurring expense related to accelerating public and staff computer replacements to better position the library to transition to Windows 11 and $250,000 to fund transition costs to new digital content services. This use applies savings achieved in 2021 that fall to Library fund balance. With this change, the Library’s overall operating budget, including State Aid and library revenue, increases 3.2% from 2021’s $29,345,916 to $30,291,713 in 2022. Including grants, which are estimated to increase by 10.8%, the combined total increase is 3.4% from 2021’s $29,952,425 to $30,963,591 in 2022.
While not part of the Library’s operating budget, the County’s Capital Budget provides: $500,000 in County funding towards Central Library interior and exterior building component needs and $90,000 for shipping and maintenance vehicle replacements.
For more information about the Library’s 2022 Budget please see:
2022 B&ECPL Adopted Budget Document (pdf)
2022 B&ECPL Adopted Budget by Cost Center (pdf)
2022 Erie County Adopted Budget Document Excerpts - Library Operating, Grants & Capital (pdf)
2022 Proposed Budget
On Monday October 4, 2021 Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz released his 2022 Proposed Budget.
The Library appreciates Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz’s support in recommending a county funding increase of $518,347 (2.0%) to libraries in his 2022 Proposed Budget through funds generated by growth in the equalized full value property tax base. As the tax base is reported to have grown by 5%, the Library Tax Rate per $1,000 will decline. The additional funding will help offset increased contractually obligated costs while limiting reliance on use of fund balance. We sincerely hope that the full Legislature will approve the County Executive’s proposal and appreciate their past support.
County funding of $26,435,688, combined with funding from New York State of $2,194,286 in operating aid, use of $703,642 in Library fund balance, and $308,097 in other library revenue, brings the Library’s 2022 proposed operating budget to $29,641,713; a 1.0% increase over the 2021 Adopted Budget. In addition to the operating budget, $671,878 in estimated state aid is included in the Library Grants Budget.
Erie County’s 2022 Proposed Capital Budget will support improvements to the county owned downtown Central Library and to system related improvements, specifically:
$500,000 for Central Library Improvements/Upgrades; and
$ 90,000 to support the Shipping and Maintenance Vehicle Replacement Program.
We believe the County Executive’s budget is a vote of confidence for the work the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library is doing on behalf of the community during these trying times. The Library is committed to providing access to quality resources and information in a variety of formats and technologies to meet its mission: Connecting our diverse community with library resources that enrich, enlighten and entertain.
The next event in the budget review process will be the Library’s budget hearing before the Erie County Legislature’s Finance & Management/Budget Committee expected to be scheduled for a date in approximately mid-November. A public hearing/comment opportunity on the overall County Budget is expected to be scheduled later in November. This page will be updated once dates and times are finalized.
Information on the proposed budget may be found in the links below. This page will be updated as the budget process moves forward.
2022 Proposed Budget Information
Erie County Proposed Budget Document Excerpts - Library Operating, Grants & Capital (pdf)
2022 B&ECPL Proposed Budget Charts and Graphs (pdf)
2022 B&ECPL Proposed Budget Line Item Detail (pdf)