Barrington officials appear poised to add money back into the library budget following Wednesday night's budget hearing.

During the online budget hearing, Barrington Town Manager Jim Cunha explained that he had proposed a $73,000 reduction to the library budget based on the elimination of some part-time salaries. The town's library was closed for more than a month during the coronavirus pandemic; full-time staff continued to work throughout the closure, while officials suspended the part-time positions.

Mr. Cunha said he had not considered the "Maintenance of effort" requirement, which is a provision calling for the library to be funded at the current year's budget or at the level of their spending for the current year. If the town failed to do that, it could reportedly impact state aid given to Barrington.

Mr. Cunha said he spoke to the library director, Kris Chin, who said there was a need for $51,000 to be added back into the proposed budget. Mr. Cunha said he planned to further study the situation and have a figure — an amount of money to add back into the library's budget — ready prior to the July 18 financial town meeting.

Committee on Appropriations Chairman Steve Primiano said the COA understands the important role the library plays in the community, adding that a better figure will be ready for the committee's next meeting on July 7.

Mr. Cunha then said that adding $51,000 back into the library's budget would only increase the town's tax rate by one penny.

Vincent Wicker, the chairman of the Barrington Library Board of Trustees, said his group was not pleased with where the library budget ended up. He said it is important for the library to be able provide services to the people of Barrington.

Mr. Wicker said the $51,000 reinstatement of funds would not cover the costs of increased sick time for the staff. He also questioned whether it would be enough to pay for increased cleaning and custodial expenses — the library, he said, will need to ramp up its cleaning protocols to ensure the safety of patrons and workers. The library budget also covers cleaning and custodial costs for Tap-In's office space in the Peck Center building.

Mr. Wicker said he would prefer the town to fully fund the library budget — adding back the $73,000.

The board chairman said some of the library's normal revenue sources will likely be impacted by the reduction of services. For example, fund-raisers that had been held for the library, such as used book sales held by the Friends of Barrington Public Library, have been impacted.

"Nobody's trying to be greedy," Mr. Wicker said, adding that he just wants to make sure the library has enough funding to continue offering services and programs to the public.

Mr. Primiano said he wanted to table the issue until the July 7 committee on appropriations meeting. And fellow COA member Richard Staples said the cut to the library's budget was not done with any malice. He said the COA was simply responding to an offer for the reduction made by the town manager.

Mr. Wicker said no one believed the COA had any malice when recommending the reduced library budget for acceptance by taxpayers.

Laura Young also spoke on the issue, stating that she hopes the town does fully fund the library, as it is a place of solace and support for people during this difficult time.

Officials then decided to move on to a different topic, planning to revisit the library budget on July 7.

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