Glen Ridge Library Seeks 10.85% Funding Increase From Borough for 2026, Board Adopts New Five-Year Strategic Plan

The Glen Ridge Public Library Board of Trustees is asking the Borough for $989,614 in minimum funding for 2026, a 10.85% jump over this year's $892,711, a rise driven in part by a 36.5% increase in the Borough's healthcare costs. Director Doody's proposed 2026 budget also includes 3% raises for full-time staff to match Borough union contracts, brings staff below the minimum set by the New Jersey Library Association up to that level (with two specialists raised even higher), separates the Communications Specialist position out of Adult Services to report directly to the Director, and adds a new 20-hour-per-week Adult Library Assistant position. Programming spending would also grow by more than 18% under the proposed budget, with increases of $750 for Adult programming, $1,000 for Young Adult programming and $1,500 for Children's programming.

In other financial business, the Library will seek about $49,000 in reimbursement from the Library of the Chathams Book Award (LCBA) grant for expenses including a refurbished Children's area office, new security cameras, and an HVAC repair in the Young Adult area, with the money going back into the building fund. The Board approved October's bills, totaling $94,050, which included $61,500 paid to the Borough for staff salaries, $3,950 for HVAC maintenance, $3,400 for the Freegal music streaming service, $3,077 for the Overdrive e-book platform, and $6,793 for library materials. Separate year-end figures showed the Library's fourth-quarter revenue coming in 45% below budget and full-year revenue at about 86% of budget, while full-year expenditures ran about 17% under budget, largely due to underspending on salaries. The financial report also listed $40,933.67 in unbudgeted "Other Miscellaneous Expenditures," including a 2023 excess appropriation, a building expenditure, an LCBA grant expenditure, and a Trustee expense. Treasurer Lefkovits also reported that dividend income was running well ahead of budget for the year, at 115% of the target, while overall expenses were tracking slightly under budget.

The Board also approved spending up to $2,000 on logo windbreaker jackets for staff and Trustees and patron swag baskets, though the vote was not unanimous — Matt Doyle voted no. Trustees voted to adopt the Library's new 2026-2030 Strategic Plan, focused on staff, communications, and programming, after reviewing a final report on the outgoing 2020-2025 plan. They also approved expanding the Library Speakers Consortium subscription starting in March 2026 to add cooking and kids & teens content in place of variety & lifestyle programming, at an added annual cost of $850, and approved a new BCCLS Mindfulness program running from January through June 2026 via Zoom, with costs already covered in the current budget.

On the fundraising side, Proponent Federal Credit Union has doubled its anticipated donation to the Friends of the Library to $5,000, and the Friends are also increasing their annual support for the Library of Things by $500, to $2,500 a year. The Friends have set aside $3,500 for Summer Reading 2026, with the Library adding another $1,500 for program software, the kickoff party, adult reading activities, and supplies. However, the Friends' annual community shredding days will no longer be held, because the vendor now requires the Borough to take on liability and insurance for the event.

Other notes from the meeting: the Library will open late, at 1:30 p.m., on December 12, 2025 due to a staff holiday brunch; October's meeting minutes were approved with Damein Phoenix abstaining; Director Doody plans to attend the Public Library Association conference in Minneapolis in April 2026; and the final report for the Essex County History Grant has been submitted, with a copy to appear in the December meeting packet. The Friends' Jay Cooper author event is set for January 10, 2026 at Ridgewood Avenue School, with discussions ongoing with the Board of Education about waiving the space fee. The Library also contracted with instructor Edmond Knesevitch for a four-week Children's Chess Workshop in November 2025, paid $79.25 to repair the wheelchair lift, and purchased new equipment for the Local History Room, including a laptop and archival supplies. There was no public comment and no executive session, and the meeting adjourned unanimously at 9:01 p.m.

What to watch

• The Board's 2026 budget, including the funding request increase and staff raises/reorganization, awaits further action.
• The Library's $49,000 LCBA grant reimbursement request has yet to be finalized.
• The Jay Cooper author event on January 10, 2026 depends on the outcome of discussions with the Board of Education over the space fee.