A new funding agreement will see a foundation set up for the Mary Jacobs Memorial Library transfer maintenance of the branch to the county library commission, Montgomery Township and the borough.
ROCKY HILL -- A new funding agreement will see the foundation set up for the Mary Jacobs Memorial Library transfer maintenance of the branch to the county library commission, Montgomery Township and the borough.
The deal, announced Thursday, runs for five years.
"This is a great outcome," said Mary Jacobs Memorial Library Foundation President Brenda Fallon. "I am very pleased the county is dedicated to finding a solution to help keep this valuable and popular library sustainable. Now the foundation can focus on building improvements and other wonderful projects for the library.
"We will still need generous support from our patrons and local businesses, but now we can have a much more solid future."
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The foundation's annual contribution to the operation and maintenance of the library will gradually decrease from $50,000 to zero over the next five years, according to a news release.
The Somerset County Library Commission will take on the annual operation and maintenance of the library building and grounds, ultimately relieving the foundation as coordinator of the facility.
"This agreement will strengthen the relationships that are key to providing the community with the library it loves, while we will work together to make sure that we are efficiently improving it in ways that benefit our community," said Somerset County Freeholder Mark Caliguire, who lives in Montgomery Township and served as mayor.
The foundation, as owner of the building and grounds, will continue to fund all of the library's capital expenses. The library will remain a branch of the county system with all services, staffing and resources will be provided by county system.
"Here is yet another example of public and private enterprises working together for the common good," said Somerset County Library Commissioner George Jarvis, who is also a Montgomery resident. "The agreement that has been reached will maintain the building that houses the Mary Jacobs Memorial Library without putting an additional burden on the county tax system."
The library system will coordinate a shared services agreement for the library's yearly operation and maintenance needs that will not raise costs to run the library. The foundation, Montgomery Township and borough "will provide substantial funds for the new arrangement," according to the news release.
All three are already supporting the library's annual maintenance, it was stated in the news release.
Unlike other branches in the county system, Mary Jacobs is privately owned by the foundation. The cost to maintain and run the other branches in the county are paid by the municipalities in which the branches are located.
"Experience gained from this partnership may help inform ways the commission might in the future offset some of the charges currently borne by host municipalities," said County Library Administrator Brian Auger.
The foundation depends on an endowment given in 1972 and on donations to meet its financial needs, according to the news release. After 40 years -- and multiple expansions -- "it has become obvious that the endowment is not sufficient to pay for yearly operations and maintenance plus capital expenses," it was stated in the release.
"The new funding initiative has grown out of a desire to continue providing the best library services to our patrons for years to come, while protecting the library endowment from depletion," says Mary Jacobs Memorial Library Foundation Trustee Wendy Rayner. "We were having to dip into our endowment on a regular basis in order to meet the growing yearly operation and maintenance expenses. This was not a sustainable practice.
"Now we hope to grow the endowment to ensure the future of Mary Jacobs Memorial Library."