Library Budget Impacting Main Service Hours, 6/17/2019
The Lake County Library District is anticipating that reduced tax revenues will continue as expenses rise, and library services will be negatively im-pacted in FY 2019-20. The Main Library hours will be reduced as will be the budget for buying materials for check out.
The library district tax base tax revenue dropped about $20,000 this fiscal year. In the coming year, new PERS rates are going into effect, increasing the amount of contributions the library must make significantly. “The combination of these two things have made it very difficult to balance the library budget,” said Amy Hutchinson, Library Director. “The library board and budget committee had to make some difficult decisions but worked well together to come up with a balanced budget that maximizes available library service for the coming year.”
The Main Library service hours will be reduced from 50 per week to 40 per week. The branch library hours, which are open between one and two and a half days per week, will be unchanged. To choose the best hours to remain open, library staff encourage as many Main Library users as possible to complete a survey at the library or online at http://bit.ly/MainHours.
The library also encourages donations to restore the budget to purchase books, newspapers, magazines and DVDs. To achieve the same level of purchasing as last year, the library would need an additional $8,000. To meet community goals for increasing the DVD collection, the library would need about 100 gently-used DVDs or an additional $1,000. Donations are tax-deductible and can be sent to the Main Library at 26 S G Street. Donors may choose which library location receives the new material first. Over time, all purchased items rotate to all library locations.
For questions or more information about the budget or the library, contact Library Director Amy Hutchinson at 541-947-6019 or amyh@lakecountylibrary.org.