BETHLEHEM — The Bethlehem Public Library is proposing a $5.2 million budget with a 2.61-percent tax increase.

Residents of the Bethlehem Central School District will have a chance to vote on the budget — along with two library trustees, the public school budget, and board of education members — on May 20 from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. at Bethlehem Central High School. 

The proposed library budget is up $186,610 (3.75 percent), primarily due to contractual salary increases and higher health-insurance premiums, according to the budget document. The increases in those two categories total around $149,000. 

The tax levy is offset by $38,000 in fund balance, plus a fairly dramatic increase in interest revenue, which is expected to jump from $90,000 this fiscal year to $121,500 (though rates will decline again in 2026, the budget notes). The remaining fund balance, according to the budget, would be $3.9 million. 

A message from the board of trustees on the library’s budget webpage says that, during the upcoming fiscal year, they will focus on “urgent structural needs,” beginning with a new boiler, which will be funded by reserves. 

The board had intended to address such structural needs as part of a $37 million capital project that was soundly defeated by voters in December.

“Right now the library is proceeding with some smaller capital projects that will be funded out of the existing fund balance,” library Director Geoffrey Kirkpatrick told The Enterprise. “These include a boiler replacement, asbestos removal, etc.  The trustees are discussing and will continue to discuss how they might address community needs in the future. Right now we are focusing on getting some of these necessary building repairs completed.”

In terms of the library’s offerings, the statement says, “Looking ahead, we will continue to invest in the materials that are popular with our borrowers, and the 2025-26 budget includes money to expand our collection and support the recent addition of online access to the New York Times and Times Union newspapers.”

Kirkpatrick said that the annual circulation, both digital and physical, was just over 656,000 for the 2023-24 fiscal year, and as of this month was at around 494,000, which “puts us right on track to be up slightly from the previous year.”

He added that there has been a shift toward digital materials among patrons, with those items now making up about a third of the library’s total circulation. Digital material, he said, comes along with expensive licensing fees. 

The materials expenses in the proposed budget is up $5,500 from the current year’s $575,000.