Dartmouth proposes library MAR change

Dartmouth has suggested changes to the Municipal Appropriation Requirement (MAR) funding formula used by the state Board of Libraries when considering library certification. This letter from Mr. Cressman to the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) lays out the changes that are proposed.
The MMA sent the email, and will follow up with a letter, to the Executive Office of Administration and Finance asking that the proposal to change the Library Municipal Appropriation Requirement (MAR) be included ...


... in House 1 (the Governor's budget) or any municipal relief bill that the governor might file this month.
With many municipalities struggling with their budgets, a substantial number of cities and towns are in a similar circumstance. The funding problem is actually sort of a "down in the weeds" issue, but in a nutshell, the yearly MAR is the average of the prior three years appropriations or the MAR whichever is higher raised by 2.5%. The result is that once a town does not achieve the MAR, that town must play catch up which is difficult or impossible in the current environment.