There has been little movement in the town and county’s disagreement over library funding during the last several months, leaving the board wondering whether it will be able to keep the facility’s doors open.
At issue is this year’s substantial increase in rent charged to the library.
In July 2017, the Westlock Intermunicipal Library Board was told its rent at the Heritage Building would increase by $30,000.
A joint-use agreement between the two municipalities states the town and the county will share the costs of the library.
The town has come forward with its contribution for the year, but the county has taken a stand against the rent increase, instead granting the board a percentage of the 2017 allotment.
“The county has provided a proposal to the town for a bit of a modification to the current funding model,” said the county’s chief administrative officer Leo Ludwig.
“It’s a matter of discussion between the two municipalities and we’ll wait and see how the town feels about the proposal the county has put on the table.
“What prompted the concern was the significant increase in the rental rates that the town was charging the library.”
Library board chair Tanya Pollard is hoping for a swift resolution to the disagreement as the library is caught in the middle with funds dwindling quickly.
“If the county does not come up with the excess money, then we’ll have to close our doors,” said Pollard.
“We’re at a point where they have granted us one half of the 2017 allocation and the town has approved our ask of the full amount of $160,000. As of right now, we have about a month-and-a-half left in our operating reserves and then we will be out of money.”
According to Pollard, at the May 8 meeting of the board, county representative Coun. Victor Julyan suggested the board apply to the county for the remaining money under the 2017 agreement. So that is what Pollard and the board plan to do.
Julyan did not respond to a request to comment. Likewise, the town’s representative on the board, Coun. David Truckey referred questions about the library to the mayor and town administration.
“The town sees tremendous value in the role libraries play in the community,” said mayor Ralph Leriger.
“Our new lease that we negotiated reflects simple cost recovery for that portion of the building. It has been heavily subsidized for quite some time … It costs real money to operate and the lease that we presented reflects cost recovery. There’s no profit in there, no taxes or anything like that.”
Leriger pointed out there have been significant maintenance costs in the last few years especially.
The Heritage Building is 60 years old and the roof was repaired, which cost $300,000 and the windows were replaced, which cost $100,000 more. This year the town has also budgeted to replace two rooftop air-handling units, he said.
“We see it as a shared service and as a shared service that comes with the expectation that you share costs. It’s a 50/50 shared service. It’s as simple as that,” said Leriger.
“They need to get over whatever problems they have and come to an agreement so that we can continue on with business as usual,” said Pollard, stressing that the closure of the library is a very real possibility if the funding does not come through. “We are really reluctant to hire new staff and we definitely need new staff, but if they don’t approve that budget … we’d have to lay them off.”
Leriger said that decisions have to be made relatively quickly, as the bills have to be paid.
“Discussions continue and I’m hoping we will have a ‘go forward’ approach. I fully expect county officials see value in that library as well,” he said.
Ludwig said an agreement would be reached one way or another.
“We’re not going to leave the library in a lurch. That’s not our intent, in any way, shape or form,” he said.
