Overcommitting to an MBLC Library Expansion — A Cautionary Tale from Westford
Photo: https://www.joneslibrary.org/
A planned renovation and expansion of the J. V. Fletcher Library in Westford, Massachusetts has many parallels to the long-running and controversial Jones Library renovation-expansion project. An examination of the Westford project and where it stands today may prove instructive.
J. V. Fletcher and Jones Library Project Histories Compared
Westford is a relatively affluent community about 35 miles northwest of Boston. It is comparable in size to Amherst when students, who mainly use their own academic libraries, are excluded. Amherst has 14,704 registered voters while Westford has 19,294.
Westford submitted an application for a library construction grant to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) in 2017, as did Amherst. Westford’s request was restrained. With a library size of 22,456 sq. ft., Westford’s expansion proposal was based on a building program that called for 35,159 sq. ft. of space. Amherst’s Jones Library building program claimed a need for 110,400 sq. ft.
Both the J. V. Fletcher Library (1895), and the Jones Library (1928) are historic, being listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Westford project was originally estimated to cost $21 million, and it was awarded an MBLC construction grant of $7.9 million. The cost estimate subsequently rose to $32.5 million which warranted additional escalation funding from the state of $829,263.
The Jones Library project was originally estimated to cost $36.3 million. Amherst was awarded a $13.9 million library construction grant from the MBLC. Inflation raised the estimated project cost to $46.1 million. Amherst received an additional $1,694,158 in Pandemic Escalation Increase funding.
Reports shows that the cost of Westford’s J. V. Fletcher Library project is the 4th highest of the 33 projects receiving MBLC awards in the 2016-2017 grant round. Amherst’s Jones Library expansion is the costliest grant-supported library project in Massachusetts.
Westford had a tax levy of $92.7 million in 2024. Amherst’s 2024 tax levy was $64.3 million.
J. V. Fletcher project planners set a fundraising goal of $1.3 million. The Jones Library Capital Campaign has pledged to raise $14.8 million to augment the MBLC and Town of Amherst contributions toward the project.
The Amherst Town Council approved a borrowing authorization of $46.1 million in December 2023, to be serviced out of the town’s levy-limited capital budget.
Westford, with the approval of its Finance Committee, Select Board, and Town Meeting, chose to ask voters to fund the library expansion through a debt exclusion, outside the limit of Proposition 2 ½. Enticed by the multi-million-dollar state grant, Westford voters approved the debt exclusion in November 2022.
Then the town’s overall financial plan began to unravel.
Financial Woes Follow Funding of Westford Library Project
The tax impact on a median-assessed home of $660,500 for the J.V. Fletcher Library Expansion was projected to be approximately $159 in 2027. While accepting this long-term assessment, Westford voters chose to reject a second debt exclusion on the same ballot that would have funded restoration of the town’s former central fire station for government offices and a large community meeting room. The median tax impact for this project was estimated to be $82. Westford had already committed $900,000 toward the approximately $12 million project.
A little over a year later, however, it became apparent that a more serious financial crisis loomed. The Select Board proposed a $6.8 million Proposition 2 ½ override to address a projected budget shortfall in FY2025 and the following three years. Without an override, Town Manager Kristen Las warned that by FY27, Westford would potentially need to reduce staffing by 172 full-time equivalent positions – 37 in town government and 135 in the schools.
Westford Town Meeting agreed to put the override on the May 7, 2024 election ballot, spread across two questions. The average single-family home, now assessed at $756,500, would have its tax bill permanently increased by approximately $764 in FY25 and beyond. Perhaps with the memory of the library project debt exclusion still fresh in voters’ minds, both questions were defeated.
Westford town leaders are now dealing with severe repercussions. Painful staff reductions have been announced. And last month the J. V. Fletcher Library reported that, after cutting its operating hours by 10%, it would be asking the MBLC to waive decertification of the library for failing to meet the state-mandated municipal appropriation standard by $71,500.
