Most would agree you can't put a price on the services public libraries provide to communities.

But deciding precisely how much money should go to suburban libraries in Allegheny County has become an unlikely source of contention.

"We don't charge anybody; we're free to the people," said JoEllen Kenney, director of Carnegie Library of McKeesport. "In fact, it's engraved in my building, over the front door."

It's a tough time for the 44 libraries that receive annual funding through the county's Regional Asset District.

The state budget, approved last week, cuts subsidies to public libraries 20.1 percent. Because of that, and a drop in individual contributions, many have come to count on a chunk of RAD's $5.6 million allocation.

Recently, the Allegheny County Library Association presented the RAD board with a proposal to change the fund-sharing formula used since 2000. Committee members -- roughly 22 volunteers from libraries representing the four geographic areas of the county -- spent 18 months working on what eventually would be three different versions of a new formula.

Several votes of the ACLA membership were taken to eliminate two of the three. The "winning" formula, however, drew criticism from a number of libraries that claimed it doesn't live up to the RAD mission statement to encourage financial contributions from communities in support of libraries.

At a Sept. 29 board meeting to present its preliminary 2010 budget, the board's library committee recommended against approving the new formula.

"The proposed formula is simpler than previous versions and increased emphasis is placed on population and library service for distressed communities," wrote members of the RAD library board.

"Having said this, there are elements of the proposal that cause us concern."

Even a "simpler" version isn't simple, taking into account elements such as population, circulation of materials and degree of distress in the community.

The recommended formula did not --as did the 2009 version -- take into account "local" support through municipalities and direct taxes.

That's been the chief complaint from those who refused to vote in favor of it, many of which are libraries in the South Hills such as Mt. Lebanon, Green Tree and Upper St. Clair.

Not counting local support means communities such as Mt. Lebanon, which receives $921,420 from the municipality toward its overall budget of $1.6 million, stands to lose up to $171,000 in RAD funds.

Opponents of the new formula claimed smaller libraries in distressed communities also stood to lose major RAD funding.

Wilkinsburg has a 2009 budget of $700,000, 24 percent of which is RAD money. Wilkinsburg also benefits from a dedicated tax in the borough, which, under the new formula, works against it and would result in a loss of close to $54,000.

"We had some very loud complaints," said Maria Joseph, director of the Moon public library, which had representation on the formula committee.

Moon has a budget of $420,105 and stands to gain roughly $40,000 with the new formula. Libraries such as Moon were hopeful that the new formula -- which received support from more than 75 percent of the members -- would be recommended by the RAD board.

"I think mostly, we're disappointed. It was a long and arduous process, 18 months of the committee working extremely hard to come up with the most fair solution," Mrs. Joseph said.

"We do our best not to be parochial and look at the entire county and what's best for the patrons," said Ms. Kenney, who is a member of the ACLA formula committee. "But you're not a good director if you're not looking out for your own library, too."

ACLA members met Oct. 6 at the Green Tree public library, where a "rapid response team" comprising three members from each of the four geographic areas was formed.

It was charged not with changing the proposed formula but with crafting a response to the RAD library board's concerns of the Sept. 29 meeting.

The team is expected to have a response ready by Oct. 23 with presentation to the entire ACLA membership at a general meeting Oct. 29. Any changes to the proposed formula would have to be submitted to the RAD board by Nov. 15 in order for it to be incorporated into the 2010 budget, as the budget will be finalized on Dec. 1.

"I certainly have a [2010] budget currently and that will be my base," Ms. Kenney said. "If I have additional money, there are many things that can be quickly added to my budget that makes the McKeesport library a little less stretched with our money.

"Originally, it was, 'Hurray! We'll add staff, and to the collection,' " said Mrs. Joseph.

Part of the problem in divvying up RAD funds involves the differing needs of the members; Allegheny County contains urban, suburban and rural areas.

McKeesport, for example, provides service to nine communities at four locations. Population is shrinking in these areas, some of which are stressed by increased unemployment. The new formula would give McKeesport a boost of $132,771.

Northland, which serves Marshall, Bradford Woods, Franklin Park, McCandless and Ross, would get a $60,000 boost from the new formula. Northland's current budget is $2.5 million, with relatively little local support in an area that is gaining in population.

Mt. Lebanon director Cynthia Richey, who is the vice president of the ACLA board but is not on the formula committee, has been perhaps the most outspoken critic of the formula recently rejected by RAD.

"Mt. Lebanon has long supported funding for distressed libraries, and we still expect to lose [RAD funds]," Mrs. Richey said. "But it is a flawed formula. ... We want to see it equitably distributed, so you don't have a huge gain by one library and a huge loss by another."

She said opponents were dismayed by the voting process. A secret ballot -- two of the three original proposed formulas included local support in the equation -- narrowed the choices to two. In that written vote, there were six abstentions from libraries that found flaws in all of the choices, Mt. Lebanon among them.

In the final vote -- Mt. Lebanon again abstained -- the formula that would eventually be recommended to RAD was approved by a 33-9 margin.

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