Budget squeeze
Wednesday, July 11th, 2007
The library’s budget for this year is going to be a tight one. I feel odd saying that since we are extremely fortunate to be funded at three million dollars. That money allows our staff to offer high quality programs, collections and services which put Teton County Library in the top 5% of libraries nationwide. But the bottom line is we’ve been instructed by the County Commissioners to trim nearly $100,000 from our operating budget. That’s not the easiest job when our request was just $6,300 more than the past year.
I’ve asked library staff and supervisors for their ideas on finding the necessary savings. So far, we’ve come up with about $50,000 in areas, such as our cash and repairs reserves, that will not affect the community’s access to library services and programs. We have to cut another $50,000.
We remain committed to offering top-notch children’s storytimes, new books, CDs, DVDs and audiobooks, Internet services, exhibits and classes. I consider our collections budget to be almost sacred, as well as the funds for computer services and early childhood literacy. These services positively affect so many people in our community. But we’re going to have to delay some of our planned projects and objectives as set out in our strategic plan. We will also have to let go of at least one existing program in order to achieve our bottom line.
I’m confident that as we work our way through the year we will be able to find efficiencies that allow us to uncover new ways to fulfill our vision and strategic plan.
Deb
