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The Mamaroneck Public Library will need around $1.4 million over the next two fiscal years to stay in operation or it will have to close on Thursday, June 1, according to Mamaroneck Mayor Tom Murphy.
The announcement comes after the library's Board of Trustees, which explained the situation to Murphy during a meeting on Monday, April 10, discovered "financial irregularities" involving the library's business office in February. After this, the library's Business Officer was put on administrative leave and a financial forensic audit was started.
The Business Officer, who was the only person overseeing all financial transactions and records for many years, has since been accused of "inappropriately using a position of trust to use library funds for personal purposes," Murphy said, adding that it is now up to the Westchester County District Attorney's Office to investigate and decide if any charges should be filed.
In addition to these allegations, the Business Officer, who was not named by Murphy, allegedly also told the Board of Trustees that the library possessed a large surplus of funds that did not actually exist.
Because of this, the Board decided to use this non-existent surplus to offset the burden to the village's taxpayers when the village was preparing its budget. Although this was a "well-intentioned move," Murphy said, it has resulted in the library needing the extra funds to stay open.
Murphy added that it is up to the village's government to raise the money needed to keep the library's doors open.
"The question now, as I see it, is what can be done to help our residents who depend upon the library’s many important programs and functions to maintain a functioning library," Murphy said.
He continued, "The village government seems to be the only governmental entity that can help the library and the many residents it serves navigate through this tempest."
Although the village can not legally give the library the shortfall they need, Murphy said what the village can do is lend its credit to the library. To do this, the village would approve Tax Anticipation Notes (TAN) that the library would then repay out of its future tax revenues.
Because the library has no statutory authority to borrow money, the village would need to be the conduit for the process.
"This will keep the library open and running until they create a structure that will put their fiscal house in order and ensure that this will never happen again," Murphy said, adding, "They will have to come up with a plan that shows the community how the needed changes will be implemented in the future."
To start the process, Murphy said he has asked the Library Board to send a formal request to the village asking for help so that they can begin processing the TAN on their end.
"I wish this were better news but working together, as a community, we will face this challenge and we have so many others in the near past," Murphy said of the situation.
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