The East Baton Rouge Parish Library Board of Control will hold the first of several community meetings Saturday to get public input intended to help the board update its strategic plan.
“We want to get people talking,” says Library Director Spencer Watts. “We have a lot of feedback from our customers, and this will be another way to get additional information and feedback about things like our services, book collections, hours of operation and online resources.”
The library’s strategic planning process is particularly important this year, as the library system’s 10.78-mill property tax is up for renewal in October. The dedicated tax generates about $40 million a year for the library system. Over the years, the board has been disciplined about setting a portion of that money aside annually into a reserve account that has now grown to some $57 million.
In light of the Metro Council’s recent vote to keep Mayor Kip Holden’s $335 million public safety bond issue off of the May ballot, some council members have suggested the city-parish should look at all its dedicated millages and consider asking voters to rededicate some of them. With a fund balance of $57 million, the library’s millage would be an attractive target.
Watts says it is not unreasonable to suggest the library system could make do with a smaller millage, but notes that all of its capital projects are funded from its reserve account.
“When we build we don’t issue bonds and pay off debt,” he says. “We save the money in advance. That is how we have over $50 million in building projects.”
Watts says the board is currently in the process of trying to assess its long-term needs so it can determine what its operating costs will be over the next 10 years. The board is also in the midst of a branch assessment process, which will help determine its projected capital expenditures over the next 10 years. Until those two assessments are complete, he says, it’s too soon to talk about asking voters to rededicate some of the library’s tax.
It’s a little bit premature, we feel, for everyone to say let’s start cutting the millage,” he says. “We may be able to cut it some but we can’t tell until we get to the end of the process.”
Saturday’s strategic planning meeting will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Fairwood Branch, 12910 Old Hammond Hwy. Another meeting will be held in February at the Main Library at 7711 Goodwood Blvd. Subsequent meetings will be held throughout the year at various branches, with details to be announced. —Stephanie Riegel
