Challenges between the Library Board and Council over Library Budget requests have been building for several years.
It’s like they don’t speak the same language. Exasperation led to a unanimous decision to freeze payment of the final 2022 library operating installment and the capital budget funding at the budget approval meeting last week. The combined amount was incorporated into the final budget as a placeholder to allow the budget approval to proceed. The funds have been transferred into the general working fund until the library board delivers a budget that both sides can live with.
The friction can be partially attributed to the legislative separation between the Library and the other municipal service providers. Roads, fire, planning and recreation services are delivered by municipal departments operated and controlled by the municipality. Libraries operate under their own unique set of rules outlined in the Public Libraries Act of 1990.
Under this legislation, public libraries are established by municipality by-law, but are managed and controlled by a Board, consisting of at least 5 members who are appointed by the municipal council for terms that mirror the term of council. Council members may hold positions on this board provided they are in a minority. The late Cathy Moore was the sole council representative on the Cavan-Monaghan Library Board, and in January Mayor McFadden filled the vacancy.
The Libraries Act identifies the head of a library its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who, along with the library board, controls the operations of the library, including all staffing decisions and employment terms, including compensation.
Municipalities fund their libraries. Library boards submit estimates of funds they require for the upcoming year to council during the municipal budgeting process. These estimates are approved or amended by council and paid to the library, and spending is expected to follow the approved estimates.
The isolation of library management from other municipal departments has contributed to funding increase requests that were higher than those from other departments, fueling the sentiment that library representatives were not “team players”. This was particularly evident in 2021 when at the first budget meeting the board sought a 9% increase in its operating budget after exceeding its 2020 operating expenditures despite being closed to the public for roughly 20 weeks due to the pandemic. The operating budget increase was settled at 0.3%, and the library received no funds for capital spending.
It’s important that this impasse is resolved. Some believe libraries are no longer relevant in a digital world, but libraries have become key community hubs offering free educational and technical resources and social support through programming for young and old. At budget time, their noble mission competes with other very tangible needs including safe roads, effective fire and protective services, planning controls and recreational opportunities in the community. During this process the focus may be on the numbers, but the real challenge will be resolving the apparent breakdown in communication that has culminated in this latest turn of events. KG
