Lower Saucon Township likely to leave Bethlehem library but not right away, representative says

Lynn Olanoff | For lehighvalleylive.com By Lynn Olanoff | For lehighvalleylive.com The Express-Times
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on August 14, 2012 at 4:37 AM, updated August 22, 2012 at 10:25 AM
bethlehem library childrens roomFreemansburg has dropped its membership with the Bethlehem Area Public Library, and Lower Saucon Township is considering leaving too.
Lower Saucon Township is leaning toward leaving the Bethlehem Area Public Library to join with Hellertown but it probably won’t happen this year, the township’s representative told the library board Monday night.

The Saucon Valley Library Task Force has voted that it’s feasible for Lower Saucon to join the Hellertown Area Library. Township library representative Lynn Koehler said she thinks the township is going to vote to join with Hellertown but will probably give Bethlehem a year’s notice.

“I don’t think it’s going to happen this year but I think it will happen,” she told the board.

Koehler asked the board what they thought of possibly allowing Lower Saucon to split its library funding between Bethlehem and Hellertown. It was flatly rejected.

“You still want to get the same service you do now at half the price,” said Thomas Nolan, who represents Bethlehem Township on the board.

The Bethlehem Area Public Library has prepared two preliminary budgets for 2013, one with Lower Saucon as a member and one without. The township contributes $183,467 toward the library.

Both budgets don’t seek any additional contributions from the library’s member municipalities, library Executive Director Janet Fricker said.

The budget with Lower Saucon is identical to this year’s $2.95 million budget. The library would still have to reduce step raises for select employees from between 5 and 8 percent to 3 percent and increase employee medical contributions from 20 to 25 percent to meet the budget, Fricker said.

The budget without Lower Saucon totals $2.77 million and includes no raises, Fricker said. It also increases employees’ medical contributions to 35 percent and ends all medical benefits for employees’ spouses and families, she said.

Those changes will hopefully allow the library to meet its budget, but if not, the library may have to cut more staff, Fricker said.

The Saucon library task force is expected to present its report to the Hellertown library board, the Lower Saucon Township Council and Hellertown Borough Council this month, Koehler said. She said Lower Saucon could possibly rush a vote on changing library services before the Bethlehem library’s November deadline but probably won’t.

“There’s an unspoken agreement to give a year’s notice,” she said.
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