Cook Memorial library district will spend more next year

Bucking a suburban money-slashing trend, the Cook Memorial Public Library District board on Tuesday approved a slightly larger budget for the next fiscal year.

The $8 million spending plan is about 2.6 percent greater than the $7.8 million budget the board used this year. The new fiscal year begins July 1.

The new budget will be the first to include a full year of spending for a renovated Cook Park Library in Libertyville and for the Aspen Drive Library in Vernon Hills. The Libertyville facility reopened in January after a $7 million renovation and expansion project, while the Vernon Hills library opened in July 2010 after a $7 million construction effort concluded.

The budget calls for more spending in some areas and less spending in others.

For example, salaries are expected to cost the district about $3.6 million over the next year, up about 2.9 percent from the current year's estimate of $3.5 million. Utility costs are expected to rise about 33 percent to $240,000, up from $180,000.

Officials expect to spend more money on materials and periodicals, too. About $1 million is set aside for such purchases, up about 5.3 percent from $950,000.

Conversely, district leaders aren't expecting to pay any rent in the new fiscal year. The current budget included $120,000 for rent, which covered a storage facility and a temporary library in Libertyville that was open during the Cook Park facility's renovation.

Likewise, district officials expect to spend $50,500 for professional services in the next fiscal year, down about 9.8 percent from the current budget's $56,000.

The board approved the budget with a 7-0 vote. There was no debate.

In a separate vote, the panel agreed to give 2 percent raises to 117 staffers. The pay increases were designed to keep up with the cost of living and were not based on individual performance, officials said.

The raises apply to employees who will have worked for the district for at least six months as of July 1. Seventy-nine of the workers are part-time employees, and 38 are full-time employees, Assistant Director Mary Ellen Stembal said.

The change does not apply to Director Stephen Kershner or employees who are at the top of their pay grades, Stembal said.

The raises will be effective July 3.