Cash-strapped libraries

Miriam Ostermann
Times Associate Editor

 

The Municipal Affairs announcement of ending a nearly five-year-long budget freeze and implementing the former government’s promises of increasing grant funding, is posing a stumbling block for library systems who in turn are facing a possible $500,000 shortfall.
After years of struggling with insufficient provincial funding – frozen to the 2010 population and neglecting to consider thousands of people new to Albertan communities – announcements were made of increasing the municipal grants and system grant rates by 10 cents, while thawing the budget freeze and upgrading to a 2014 population base.
Although the proposed financial swelling of the previously stagnant $1.5 million grant funding would result in additional $215,000, library systems experienced a hiccup when told only 75 per cent of the forecast will be allocated by the end of June – leaving the organizations cash-strapped once again.
“This is not what I would’ve gotten normally last year,” said Michelle Toombs, CEO of the Marigold Library System. “We’re short about $500,000 from what we hoped to get later on in the fall. We’re hopeful that when things settle down and the new government has a chance to regroup that they take a look at the budget and we will get what we were promised.”
With proposed changes suggesting $5.55 per capita in municipal grants and $4.70 in system grants for last year’s population size, the Marigold Library System was expecting a total of $1.76 million. As only three-quarters, or $1.3 million, of the funds are being dished out until the fall, Marigold is forced to tighten their belts and postpone anticipated projects into the foreseeable future. Such initiatives include upgrading IT systems, replacing delivery vans, and a new space. However, Toombs remained optimistic that no changes will occur to their service grants, or the $1,000 IT Capacity Fund, which allows libraries to continue to pay for sourcing of materials, and the maintenance and licensing of IT equipment.
According to last year’s numbers, the Strathmore Municipal Library – one of Marigold’s 37 member libraries – relied on the library system for nine per cent of its funding. Despite heavily relying on the municipality for a whopping 54 per cent, 20 per cent of their revenues also came from the Alberta Library Grant. With expectations of receiving the remaining 25 per cent once the budget is approved in the fall, the staff at the local library remain confident the NDP government will honour their commitment.
“It’s not for sure but it’s worded quite strongly,” said Rachel Dick Hughes, director of library services at the Strathmore Municipal Library, who added the library would face challenges if the money were to be reclaimed.
“Last year we got $66,000 from the province, so that would mean about $16,500 would have to come out of our budget, which would be very difficult. By that point it’s really hard to cut anything, because the year is three-quarters of the way over. We’d tighten up as much as we could but reserves would have to fill in the gaps.”
Municipal Affairs is projecting that a total of $29 million will be distributed in provincial funds to municipal and system library boards.
Shannon Greer, press secretary with the minister of Municipal affairs and service Alberta, said they are pleased to strengthen and support communities through operating grants and investments in the provincial public library network.
Both Marigold and the Strathmore Municipal Library wrote letters to the current Minister of Municipal Affairs with emphasis on the importance of the library services in Alberta. Once the smallest library system in the province, and now sitting in the third-largest spot, Marigold recently also acquired Banff. While continuing to grow, Toombs was relieved about the funding adjustments, as some libraries have hinted at the closure of their facilities due to a lack of funding.
“We didn’t know anything about the funding, we were told that everything was on hold, we didn’t have any prospects in sight, we didn’t know if we were going to get a funding increase, and we didn’t know what was going to happen,” Toombs said. “The reason why getting 75 per cent now is good news, is because we didn’t know when and if we would get that money, and we were wondering how we were going to make the payment.”
Pending legislative approval, the 2015-2016 total provincial financial support for public library services is expected to be $36 million. Until details regarding the provincial budget are released in the fall, Strathmore’s library and the Marigold Library System will need to sit tight until their second instalment is received.