Members of Pennsylvania Citizens for Better Libraries received the following news yesterday:
After 10 days of intense, behind-the-scenes maneuvering, Pennsylvania’s General Assembly early this morning passed finally the state’s budget bill for the fiscal year 2006-07 which began yesterday, July 1. For Pennsylvania’s public libraries, the news is welcome and joyful but tinged with a bit of disappointment. But that disappointment cannot compare to the great news in this budget for Pennsylvania’s library users.
First, the great news is that the final budget (H.B. 2499, P.N. 4513) includes an all-time record-high amount for public libraries---$75.5 million, the amount proposed by Governor Ed Rendell back in February. Without question, this will go a long way toward expanded and higher quality library services. This appropriation is an increase of $14.1 million over last year’s budget and represents the third largest single-year increase in the history of the public library subsidy.
The only disappointment attached to all this is the fact that the General Assembly chose not to implement the funding formula in the coming year. As you know, PaLA has long advocated for a resumption of the funding formula which would restore important incentives for local funding. Instead, the budget negotiators opted for a plan that funds every state-aided library entity at the exact same dollar amount that they were paid in 2002-03, the year just prior to the nightmare, budget-cut year of 2003-04. This plan aimed to get everyone back to their funding level in the year when the state funding was previously at its highest.
Despite our best efforts as a community in support of the formula, and the administration’s support for the formula as well, this collective effort could not overcome what turned out to be a straightforward and compelling argument from some legislative corners to return first to libraries’ highest funding levels previously, and then work to re-engage the formula next year, in 2007-08. Appropriations staffers have expressed a strong desire to work with the library community toward that end, and PaLA will do just that. We will re-double our efforts to reach our goal next year.
For now, most importantly, every one of you should enjoy a smile and a cyber pat on the back. Your determination, your steadfastness, your patient resolve, your passion for library services, and your understanding of the need for a unified voice are central factors why, in just three years, we climbed back out of the devastating budget hole that was the nightmare of 2003-04. I know, I know. Some damage will never be undone. But at the same time, when you look at the big picture, it is nothing short of remarkable that together we have secured a 100 percent increase back in three budget years.
During the long hours of passing the budget overnight, the Senate and House passed a companion Library Code bill (S.B. 651, P.N. 748) that detailed the distribution of next year’s funds based on 2002-03 allocations. This bill also addressed funding for changes in the Harrisburg and Lebanon District Centers that occurred after 2002-03, and for several newly eligible libraries.
Thank you for your amazing hard work, persistence, and capacity to stay positive, even in the face of the most difficult times. This is largely very good news today. Yet, it reminds us still that $75 million is not a final destination, and that important work lies ahead in the coming year. Let’s enjoy this successful step forward for a little while, say thanks to the Governor and our legislators, and rest a bit before we resume our climb upward.
Glenn
Glenn R. Miller
Executive Director
Pennsylvania Library Association
:-)
