A $25,000 cut in city funding to the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library in 2011 could cost an additional $100,000 and two to four lost jobs years down the line.
Alice Shands, director of the Lowndes library system, said the Columbus City Council”s plans to reduce its share of library funding from $250,000 to $225,000 in fiscal year 2011 will make the library ineligible for a State Library Commission personnel grant, which contributes an average $100,000 annually.
“You must maintain your local-level funding within a certain percent. By dropping that $25,000 the city is taking away our percentage,” said Shands.
To receive the personnel grant, which is intended as an incentive for local municipalities to maintain funding, funds cannot fall more than 2 percent of the previous year”s appropriations. Shands says the loss of funds from the city, which splits funding for the library with the county and the state, constitutes a 4.47 percent cut.
Local boards have until Sept. 15 to finalize their fiscal year 2011 budgets. For 2010, Lowndes County budgeted $326,000 for the library, and expects to do the same for 2011.
The loss of the personnel grant wouldn”t take effect until 2013, but Shands says the results would be “devastating.”
“We are not adequately staffed now, but to lose that amount is roughly equal to two professional librarians or four full-time clerks. This level of staff loss will mean reduced hours and closed days,” she said.
Shands intends to appear before the council Sept. 7 during a public hearing to present this information and ask the councilmen to reconsider. The final budget is not due until Sept. 15.
Ward 3 Councilman Charlie Box says the council can”t allow the library to take a $100,000 cut, but he doesn”t know where the money would be found to match 2010 appropriations.
“If we put back in what we”ve already cut we”re going to end up raising taxes. We”ve cut city departments so much. We haven”t given raises in three years and we”ve bought no new equipment except a used fire truck to keep from losing our fire rating,” said Box. “(The council) just took a straight across-the-board whack on everything. We didn”t pick out any one (agency to cut).”
The Lowndes library system employs more than 20 workers at four locations: Columbus, Caledonia, Crawford and Artesia. Shands says many of her current staff have already met retirement eligibility and “could come in and retire tomorrow.” If the library loses $100,000 it will not be able to replace any lost employees.
A contract with Unique Management Services, a collection agency, has assisted the library in partially recovering $72,000 in overdue materials and fines reported in September 2009. However, Shands couldn”t immediately say how much had been recovered because that information is generally compiled by a technology worker. Due to recent budget cuts, the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library was not able to hire a technology specialist after the departure of the last person to hold that position.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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