JKPL asks for $593K for FY 2015

The Joeten Kiyu Public Library wants a bigger slice of the government spending pie with a budget request of $593,406 for fiscal year 2015, some $160,000 more than the $432,528 it got in the previous fiscal year.
In the spending plan it submitted to Gov. Eloy S. Inos, JKPL officials point out that the library continues to fulfill its vital role of serving the needs of about 50,000 residents, yet continues to get a meager share of the government’s yearly budget.

With little money for programs, supplies, and resources, the library is fortunate to continued to receive grants to augment local resources and community volunteers that help the library in many ways, it said.

For fiscal year 2015, the library wants to boost its 10 staff to 11, with the hiring of a librarian aide. It wants a personnel budget of $297,816, up a bit from the $269,633 it got in fiscal year 2014.

For operations, the library is seeking $295,590, which will cover office expenses, travel, repairs, training of staff, utilities, and supplies.

Library officials noted that fiscal year 2015’s budget for operations is a noticeable reduction compared to the previous fiscal year, due to cost-cutting measures in utilities and bare operational necessities.

Cost-saving measures

One of the major highlights of the budget is the cost-savings that JKPL has incurred.

“On behalf of the CNMI Library Council and the hardworking staff of the libraries on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, I would like to emphasize that the cost of annual cost-savings in terms of quantifiable amount is about $10,000 to $100,000 annually…We used to spend $12,000 to $15,000 in a month, now we are spending $9,000 to $10,000 in a month. That’s a lot of savings,” said JKPL executive director John Oliver Gonzales.

He said a federally subsidized discounted funding for E-rate discounts for telecommunications amount to $35,000 annually and saves the CNMI government 90 percent.

The grant administered by Universal Services Administrative Co. for all public libraries for annual telecommunications costs about $40,000, but JKPL only pays 10 percent of it.

Another cost-saving measure is yard cleaning and maintenance, which used to cost $12,000 annually. Due to volunteer groups and organizations, this saves the CNMI government 100 percent.

While an air-conditioning retrofit for all three 24-ton units amounted to $70,000, it however has saved the library 30 percent in monthly utilities.

Federal grants also helped JKPL strengthen and replace its roof at a cost of $200,000. That has resulted in the library saving some 30 percent in utilities each month.

This is reflected in the library’s budget request for utilities. In fiscal year 2014, JKPL spent $180,000 on utilities. For the new fiscal year, it is asking for only $120,000.

The library also asks for $20,000 to buy new books and materials to replace its outdated basic reference research materials. The proposed amount will be distributed among the islands’ three public libraries: $15,000 for JKPL; $2,500 for the Tinian Municipal Public Library; and $2,500 for the Antonio C. Atalig Memorial Library on Rota.

JKPL also is renewing its contact with McNaughton Book Service, which provides the library with new popular book titles at a greatly discounted rate. The book service provides the library with 30 books per month and is highly sought by the community.

“Acquisition of other popular educational resources in response to patron needs is critical in order to sustain, if not increase, patron traffic to our libraries,” the budget plan states.

The two libraries on Rota and Tinian also need to procure equipment such as copiers, vehicles, and anti-theft security systems.

“We trust you will support us convince our federal grantors that our request for local appropriations are well within the required maintenance-of-effort threshold to sustain community literacy as essential educational community anchor institutions in order to maintain and expand our onsite and outreach library services in all our public library branches NMI-wide,” said Gonzales and Mark Rabauliman, chairman of the CNMI Library Council, in their message to the governor. (Jayson Camacho)