Judge Blocks NJ Public Library Eviction After Funds Dispute

-- Library Journal, 2/28/2007

Brielle Public Library (BPL), NJ, has received a temporary reprieve from eviction from its borough-owned building. The nonprofit association that runs BPL and the borough's council must settle their differences at a March 7 meeting, as mandated by a state Superior Court judge. At issue is how BPL uses money it has privately raised. The borough, which funds 85 percent of BPL's budget, according to Asbury Park Press, charges that BPL holds as much as $120,000 in brokerage and money market accounts. The borough claims them as tax dollars that BPL refuses to return.

The eviction notice gave BPL until February 28 to vacate the building. That motion is now on hold by court order, but BPL won't be able to spend more than $25,000 until March 7, and no books or computers can be removed from the building. The dispute goes back to fall 2006, when the borough refused to pay its fourth-quarter allotment to BPL, after discovering the funds. BPL then closed for several days. BPL's financial records are now under investigation by the local police department and Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.