Public library officials seek help

WELLSBURG - Officials with the Brooke County Public Library have asked the Brooke County Commission to assist them with funding, citing rising costs they said could put the library at a deficit.

In a letter to the commission, Mary Kay Wallace, the library's director, said the library and its Follansbee branch have been struggling with escalating costs for utilities, books and wages.

Wallace said in light of such expenses, the library will go into the red by $38,848 if nothing is done. She asked the commission to consider raising the amount allotted to the libraries through the county's ambulance excess levy, from $98,500 to $137,348.

"With the state of the economy, we know that we will be at your mercy. Despite hard economic times, there is an increase in demand for library services - for computer usage, online computer applications for jobs and classes for writing cover letters and resumes," Wallace said.

John Cole, president of the library's board of trustees who was called for comment, agreed, saying, "We have more and more people coming in to use computers and we are helping more and more people to find jobs.

"When the economy sags, the library becomes more important because it offers free entertainment," he added.

Cole said much of state funding received by the library goes to wages, and that expense has risen only because of the increase in minimum wage ordered by the state.

Wallace said of 14 employees at the libraries, only four are full-time and just three receive health coverage.

Cole said library officials also have suggested a larger portion of the state's coal severance revenue be allotted to libraries in an effort to remedy the problem.

He said Wallace had secured grants for computers and other equipment but grant sources have begun to dry up.

Cole added the library also experienced a setback when the Brooke County United Way, another source of funding, went on hiatus last year. He said the library will be among Brooke County groups supported by the Upper Ohio Valley United Way, however, since that group has merged with the Brooke County United Way.

Wallace suggested the library may be forced to cut hours or staff to address the projected deficit.

"We're waiting to see what's happening with the county, and that will be the determining factor," Cole said of what measures the library board may take.

Commission president Bernie Kazienko noted the library is one of several entities supported by the county's five-year ambulance excess levy.

Up for renewal next year, the levy also generates funds, through property taxes, for the following county departments and agencies: Brooke County Ambulance Service; Weirton Area Ambulance and Rescue Squad; Bethany Ambulance Service; Mary H. Weir Public Library; Brooke County Opportunity Center and Healthways; Brooke County Committee on Aging, which operates the Brooke County Senior Center and other senior programs; county health department; Brooke County Parks and Recreation Commission, which operates Brooke Hills Park; and West Virginia University Extension Service.

Kazienko said the commission plans to meet with heads of the various entities to discuss the levy.

The commissioners haven't taken a stance on whether the amount generated by the levy may be increased.

(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)