11/9/2004 BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES Minutes

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Commonwealth of Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners Y 648 Beacon Str t • Boston, Massachusetts 0221 617 267-9400. 800 952-7403 (ire-state only).•-Fax: 617-.421-9833 FY2005 STATE AID TO U B L I C LIBRARIES FAC' TS' H E- ET State Aid to Public Libraries is awarded annually and consists of the Library Incentive Grant, the Municipal Equalization Grant and the [nonresident Circulation Offset. The purpose of State Aid to Public Libraries is: *to encourage municipalities to support and improve public library service, •to compensate for disparities among municipal funding capacities, •to offset the cost of circulating public library materials to Massachusetts nonresidents from certified municipalities. Certification Requirements To,receive State Aid to Public Libraries a municipality and its library must be annually certified by the Board of Library Commissioners as meeting a municipal appropriation requirement for the current fiscal year and as having met certain minimum standards of public library service in the previous fiscal year,as detailed ire M.C.L., Ch. 78,s.1 9A and 198,amended by current budget language. Funding State Aid to Public Libraries funding is appropriated annually by the legislature. The FY2005 appropriation for Mate Aid to Public Libraries is $8,539,844 (Ch. 149,Acts of-2004). This is an increase of$1,200,000 from FY2004,and will be reflected in,increased Library Incentive Grant, Municipal Equalization Grant and Nonresident Circulation Offset awards. State Aid to Public Libraries Components Library Incentive Grant(LIG) � For municipalities with populations under 2,500 the LIC is "a sura equivalent to the amount appropriated by [the municipality] for free public library service during the preceding year, but in no event more than $1,250" M.C.I.. Ch. 78, s.19A 1 . Municipalities with populations of 2,500 and over receive a LIG award based on a .50 per capita rate. An additional $1,5 million in state aid over and above the statutory per capita was appropriated for the Library Incentive Grant beginning in FY2000, resulting in a $0.75 per capita rate and a threshold of$1,875 for municipalities with populations under 2,500. The FY2005 reduction of 13.73% from F 20 0 will reduce the LIG per capita to $0.647, and the threshold for municipalities with populations under 2,500 to$1,617.43.. Municipal Equalization Grant MEG MEG 'awards are distributed to all certified municipalities using a calculation based on the state lottery formula. An additional $1.5 million in state aid was appropriated for the MEG beginning in F 2000. The FY2005 appropriation reduction of 13.73% from FY2000 will result in proportionally reduced awards based on the MEG formula, r► .. o of NRC Offset awards are distributed to municipalities whose libraries report circulation to patrons from other certified Massachusetts municipalities. Beginning in F199 , an annual appropriation of $1,239,025 has been used to reimburse municipalities based on the number of nonresident transactions their libraries report. The FY2005 appropriation reduction of 13.73%from the FY1994 NRC amount resulted in a total of$1,068,817.14 to be distributed based on the number of transactions for FY2004. TIS e resulting reimbursement amount is$0.10928315 per transaction Disbursement of State Aid to Public Libraries Monies After a municipality is certified to receive State Aid to Public'Libraries, the agency authorizes disbursement of monies which are normally combined in one payment.Any additional available€ands will be distributed by the end of the fourth quarter of FY2005. The usual'statutes and regulations implemented by the Department of Revenue concerning municipal finances apply to State Aid to Public Libraries awards. Annual state budget language also requires that"any payment made under this appropriation shall be deposited with the town treasurer of such city or town and held as a separate account and shall be expended by the public library of such city or town without appropriation"(Ch. 149,Acts of 2004). Contact the State Aid and Data Coordination Unit-for further information. 10/2612004