Bill Text: NJ A2911 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires transfer of municipal free library surplus amounts above 20% to municipality for its general purposes, which may include property tax relief.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Passed) 2010-10-27 - Approved P.L.2010, c.83. [A2911 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A2911-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman JOAN M. QUIGLEY
District 32 (Bergen and Hudson)
Assemblyman VINCENT PRIETO
District 32 (Bergen and Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Sacco and Beach
SYNOPSIS
Requires transfer of municipal free library surplus amounts above 20% to municipality for its general purposes, which may include property tax relief.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the transfer of certain municipal free library surplus amounts to municipalities and amending R.S.40:54-15 and P.L.2007, c.62.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.40:54-15 is amended to read as follows:
40:54-15. a. The board of trustees shall make an annual report to the chief financial officer of the municipality which shall include a statement setting forth in detail all public revenues received by the library, all State aid received by the library, all expenditures made by the library and the balance of funds available. Notwithstanding the requirements of R.S.40:54-8 pertaining to the amount required to be raised and appropriated for library purposes, the annual report [may] shall identify excess funds that the board [intends] is required to approve and transfer to the municipality as miscellaneous revenue. The excess funds [intended for transfer may] transferred shall be any [amount that exceeds the sum of the amount of the audited operating expenditures of the library for the most recent available year, plus an additional 25% of those operating expenditures, excluding funds restricted for capital projects and grants, to be maintained as surplus] undesignated general fund balance in excess of 20 percent of the audited operating expenditures for the preceding budget year. The annual report shall also include an analysis of the state and condition of the library and shall be sent to the municipal governing body and to the State Library. The State Librarian shall prescribe by regulation the form of all such reports.
b. (1) The board of trustees of a municipal free library [may] shall adopt a resolution [of its intent] to transfer excess funds to the municipality, as identified in its annual report pursuant to subsection a. of this section.
(2) [The board of trustees of a municipal free library established after the effective date of P.L.2008, c.8 shall not adopt a resolution of intent pursuant to this subsection before the eighth budget year following its establishment.] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. .) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)
c. Once the board of trustees has adopted a resolution [of intent] pursuant to subsection b. of this section, it shall forward the resolution to the State Librarian[ for approval, along with any other information required by the State Librarian and in accordance with procedures and forms promulgated by the State Librarian in consultation with the Director of the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs]. [The State Librarian shall approve any resolution upon a determination that all of the following provisions are met:]
[(1) the] The municipal free library [will still] shall not retain a sum [equal to] from its received public funds that is greater than 20 percent of the amount of the audited operating expenditures of the library for the most recent available year [plus an additional 25% of that amount] as surplus, excluding funds restricted for capital projects and grants[, to be maintained as surplus;
(2) the municipality and the municipal free library are in compliance with all conditions imposed by rule or regulation promulgated by the State Librarian for per capita library aid to public libraries according to the "state library aid law," N.J.S.18A:74-1 et seq., and pertaining to appropriations for the maintenance of a municipal free library according to R.S.40:54-8 or section 2 of P.L.1959, c.155 (C.40:54-29.4) in the case of a joint free public library;
(3) there are sufficient funds remaining in the municipal free library's operating budget for the maintenance of the library for the balance of the fiscal year in which the transfer of funds to the municipality occurs; and
(4) the library board of trustees has a written plan of at least three years that reflects that the long-term funding needs of the library will be met, and that any capital expense will contribute to the provision of efficient and effective library services, and that the written plan has been approved by the State Librarian].
d. Upon [approval] adoption of its resolution [of intent by the State Librarian pursuant to subsection c. of this section], the board of trustees [may] shall cause the amount of the excess funds identified in its resolution to be transferred to the municipality for its general purposes, which may include property tax relief.
(cf: P.L.2008, c.8, s.1)
2. Section 10 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.40A:4-45.45) is amended to read as follows:
10. a. In the preparation of its budget the amount to be raised by taxation by a local unit shall not exceed the sum of new ratables, the adjusted tax levy, and the total of waivers approved pursuant to section 11 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.40A:4-45.46); provided, however, that in the case of a county, the amount to be raised by taxation shall not exceed the amount permitted by section 4 of P.L.1976, c.68 (C.40A:4-45.4).
b. The following exclusions shall be added to the calculation of the adjusted tax levy:
(1) increases in amounts required to be raised for (a) all debt service and (b) lease payments with county improvement authorities pursuant to leases in effect on the effective date of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.18A:7F-37 et al.);
(2) increases in amounts required to be raised to replace State formula aid due to a reduction in State formula aid from the previous local budget year;
(3) increases in amounts for certain pension contributions set forth in section 5 of P.L.2003, c.108 (C.40A:4-45.43) for the years set forth in that section;
(4) with respect to municipalities, any increase, greater than four percent, in the reserve for uncollected taxes that is required by law;
(5) increases in health care costs equal to that portion of the actual increase in total health care costs for the budget year that is in excess of four percent of the total health care costs in the prior year, but is not in excess of the product of the total health care costs in the prior year and the average percentage increase of the State Health Benefits Program, P.L.1961, c.49 (C.52:14-17.25 et seq.), as annually determined by the Division of Pensions and Benefits in the Department of the Treasury;
(6) increases in amounts for certain normal and accrued liability pension contributions set forth in sections 1 and 2 of P.L.2009, c.19 amending section 24 of P.L.1954, c.84 (C.43:15A-24) and section 15 of P.L.1944, c.255 (C.43:16A-15) equal to that portion of the actual increase in normal and accrued liability pension contributions for the budget year that is in excess of four percent of the normal and accrued liability pension contributions in the prior year;
(7) surplus amounts transferred from a municipal free library pursuant to R.S.40:54-15.
Notwithstanding the other provisions of this subsection, when the appropriation for all debt service is less than the amount appropriated for all debt service in the prior fiscal year, the amount of the difference shall be deducted from the sum of the exclusions listed in paragraphs (1) through [(6)] (7) of this subsection. If there are no exclusions, then the amount of the difference shall reduce the adjusted tax levy by that amount. Any cancelled or unexpended appropriation for any exclusion pursuant to this subsection or waiver pursuant to section 11 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.40A:4-45.46), also shall be deducted from the sum of the exclusions listed in paragraphs (1) through [(6)] (7) or directly reduce the adjusted tax levy if there are no exclusions.
(cf: P.L.2009, c.19, s.4)
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill is intended to provide property tax relief to municipal taxpayers while protecting those municipal free libraries that are not as financially stable as other municipal free libraries. Current budgeting standards recommend a goal of 20% surplus of an entity's operating budget, while most public bodies actually hold 10% or lower of the amount of their operating budgets in surplus. At the same time, however, many municipal free libraries are holding surpluses in excess of 100% of their operating budget, and these huge surpluses are increasing each year as municipalities are required to make their annual donation based on a fixed formula, required by N.J.S.A.40:56-8, of 1/3 of a mil on every dollar of assessable equalized value, regardless of the financial state of the library. Those municipal free libraries that are not in good financial standing would not be affected by this bill until such time as they have built a surplus in excess of 20% of their operating budget.
Specifically, this bill would require a municipal free library to transfer any undesignated general fund balance that exceeds 20% of its audited operating expenditures for the previous year to the municipality that established the municipal free library for its general purposes, which may include property tax relief. This transferred library surplus amount would be an exclusion that is added to the adjusted tax levy when calculating the municipality's property tax levy cap so that it would not increase the amount permitted to be raised by taxation under the levy cap.
Under current law, a municipal free library may choose to transfer to the municipality any amount that exceeds the amount of the audited operating expenditures of the library for the most recent available year plus an additional 25% of that amount, excluding funds restricted for capital projects and grants, upon approval by the State Librarian. This bill would amend N.J.S.A.40:54-15 to eliminate that required approval, since the transfer would no longer be discretionary.
