GLOVERSVILLE — The fiscal outlook for Gloversville has grown so uncertain that the Common Council spent most of its work session Wednesday night arguing about money it’s already voted to spend.

First Ward Councilwoman Robin Wentworth put forward a motion to authorize the Gloversville Public Library to contract with engineering firm Steve E. Smith PE for $10,100 to design a plan to correct the library’s basement moisture problem and design more a energy-efficient and a more “historically accurate” vestibule and front doors. The money for the project would come out of $50,000 the council already authorized for capital spending at the library.

Gloversville Commissioner of Finance Bruce VanGenderen said the library has approximately $30,000 remaining in its capital spending account. He said he didn’t think an additional action authorizing how they spend the remaining money was necessary.

Second Ward Councilman John Castiglione questioned the wisdom of paying for an engineering study when it’s unlikely the city will have the money to pay for any renovation project at the library in 2009, if ever.

“I know [the library] is a lovely old building, and it’s certainly a landmark in the city of Gloversville, but I think it’s going to get too expensive for the city under the present situation … to be able to maintain it,” Castiglione said.

Gloversville Public Library Director Barbara Madonna said she apreciated Castiglione’s view but said the city has long neglected the need to renovate the library’s basement. She said water leaks into the basement when it rains and the library can’t obtain outside grant funding for the repairs because they are considered maintenance work.

“This cannot wait. We’re going to lose the building,” Madonna said.

Castiglione said the library should save its $30,000 because it’s the last money it’s going to get from the city unless the proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter is built and the city is able to right its financial ship.

“We’re borrowing $800,000 from our surplus to [avoid a tax increase] next year. And next year it’s going to be worse than this past year. We’re in for serious trouble in 2010, with a major tax increase plus a cutback in services unless Wal-Mart gets in here to help bail this city out,” Castiglione said. “We may find a situation where we don’t have a city anymore and we have to turn the keys over to the county or the town [of Johnstown], that’s how serious it is, and you can take that to the bank. So when it comes to projects such as the library and things of that nature that require an expenditure of money, it’s going to be a serious problem.”

VanGenderen said the city could face an insolvency issue over the next few years if Wal-Mart or some other major source of revenue isn’t added. He said city officials have been lobbying the state Legislature to create special property tax districts in the town of Johnstown to enable the city to levy a tax on new users of the city’s water and sewer system. He said the proposed taxing jurisdictions won’t have rates as high as the city but will be higher than the town of Johnstown’s.

The council ultimately voted to approve putting Wentworth’s resolution on its monthly meeting agenda, although VanGenderen maintained that another vote on the capital spending was redundant.

“We never put any strings upon them on what had to be done [with the capital money] earmarked clearly for the library,” he said.