Library board approves $870,600 budget

By NEAL RENTZ

The Pound Ridge Library Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve the 2026 $870,600 budget proposed by Library Director Jennifer Coulter, which includes no tax increase, at its July 23 meeting. 

The library is expected to receive the same funding from the town as it has for about the past decade. 

The spending plan is anticipating that the library will receive an increase in investment income in the coming year that could come from higher yields from the trust accounts managed by the library. As of this May, the library had $25,000 in investment income and the proposed budget is estimating that it will receive $30,000 in those revenues for the 2026 budget year.

There are no major renovation projects included in the budget.

Staff salaries and benefits will rise by about $100,000 in 2026, mainly due to higher health insurance costs. 

Facilities report

Former trustee Bonnie Schwartz gave the board her first report as facilities manager. She served on the board of trustees for seven years and was its president for two years.

Schwartz told the board there is a pothole or divot leading out of the library’s driveway onto Westchester Avenue. She was told by a paving company the repair would cost between $300 and $400.

Schwartz said there was a need for gutter repair and replacement on the library’s roof. She noted that Perry Roofing worked on the roof about four years ago. A recent basement leak at the library was caused, in part, by a portion of a gutter that caved in and as a result, water dripped down, she said. 

“I think that was part of your problem when you had the basement leak,” Schwartz said. “But also, Perry Roofing noticed that the tiles were all broken. So, when that limb hit it actually broke our roof.”

The roof repair would cost less than $1,500 because Perry Roofing previously performed roof work, Schwartz said. 

Schwartz said she recently had an informal meeting with town building inspector, Jim Perry, who said he did not care if the gutters are replaced by white aluminum or copper. 

Schwartz noted that the gutter that failed is a 4-inch copper gutter, while the rest of the gutters are 6 inches. There is a big difference between the cost of copper and aluminum gutters, she said. “It’s been recommended by every company that we do a six-inch,” she said. 

Perry provided “a courtesy call” to town Landmarks and Historic District Commission Chairman Edward Forbes for his opinion on the issue of which type of gutter should be on the library building, but Forbes has not yet responded, Schwartz said. The library is a landmarked building, she noted.

Schwartz asked the trustees to approve proposals for both the copper and aluminum gutters because the library should approve what the landmarks commission prefers. 

Schwartz requested that the board approve a contract with Perry Verrone for the gutter work, which would cost $4,200 if the gutter was copper or $2,400 if it was aluminum. 

Verrone said if he was hired there would be an examination of all the gutters, Schwartz said, noting his firm was already hired to do work on the roof.

The board voted unanimously to hire Verrone at a cost of up to $4,200 for the gutter repair and replacement. 

The board voted unanimously to spend up to $3,500 for Genesis to power wash the building and make minor repairs to the exterior. Schwartz said that after power washing, rotted wood would be replaced.

Annual audit

Also at last week’s meeting, the 2024 audit was discussed.

Jeffrey Shaver, a partner with PKF O’Connor Davies, the library’s auditing firm, told the trustees the library had received an unmodified opinion from the independent auditor’s report. 

“We call it a clean opinion,” he said. “That’s the most favorable opinion that you can receive. What that means is the figures and the financial statements are complete and accurate.”