A request by the Coplay Public Library will have to wait until February to be addressed, the borough council decided Tuesday night.

Natalie Reichl, president of the library's board of trustees, sent a letter to council Jan. 8 asking officials to pass a resolution at that evening's meeting placing a library funding referendum on the May 21 primary ballot. She did not attend the meeting.

"It is the hope of the library board that you are able to pass this resolution without the need of petitions signed by Coplay residents," says a letter from Reichl, read aloud by borough Secretary-Treasurer Sandra Gyecsek. "However we are prepared to produce those petitions if necessary."

Councilman Charles Sodl asked for clarification on the issue of signatures.

"It's either council can pass a resolution or they have to get signatures in order to get the referendum on. Those are the two options," Gyecsek said.

At borough council's Dec. 17, 2012, special meeting, held to approve the 2013 budget, Reichl addressed council members, telling them that by June, the library would be more than $31,000 in the hole due to funding cuts made by the Whitehall-Coplay School District. The district, which had been providing more than $70,000 in annual funding, set aside $48,000 in its 2011-12 budget after Council President Lou Bodish, Councilman Joseph Groller and former Councilman Marvin Mann requested "one-time wind-down funding" of $48,000.

The borough's 2012 budget included an appropriation of $16,500 for the library. In July 2012, council voted to make up the $23,000 shortfall for 2012, giving the library a total of about $40,000 in 2012.

Although the borough's 2013 budget includes $28,332 in funding for the library, this figure is still considerably less than what the library received in 2012 and not enough to make up for the $72,000 the library had received from the school district.

"Because I just got this this afternoon there was no time to prepare any resolution," said Gyecsek after reading Reichl's letter. "And after looking at it, it appears that ... waiting till February would be OK. They can still get it on the referendum at that point."

Contacted after the meeting, Reichl said the delay will not cause a problem.

"We need 60 days prior to the May 21 election," she said. "I dropped the letter off to Sandy midday [Jan 8], so I do understand."

The library will have petition signatures ready regardless of what council decides, she said.

After the December meeting, Reichl told The Press she believes that, if approved, the library tax would cost the average Coplay homeowner $35 annually.