Jackson County Adjusts to the Elimination of Maintenance of Effort

Jackson County is a member of the Winding Rivers Library System.

Libraries dealing with funding change. (Jackson County Chronicle, 12/7/2011)

Excerpt: Libraries in Jackson County are trimming their 2012 budgets after the state eliminated a provision requiring municipalities to fund libraries at the average of the prior three years.

The city of Black River Falls reduced its funding to the Black River Falls Public Library by $4,000 after the requirement was eliminated. The library received $141,000 from the city for its total $296,000 budget for 2011, and it will receive $137,000 from the city for 2012.

However, the village of Taylor maintained its funding level for Taylor Memorial Library, allocating the same $18,000 for 2012 as it did in 2011.

"Something's got to give.— It's got to be hours or materials or both," said Black River Falls Public Library Director Muriel Gunderson.  "The (provision) allowed libraries to plan for the future and be able to predict what their budgets were from year to year — they remained stable if not better."

"Now the city can determine whatever they want to give us."

Related post:
Jackson County:  A Half Century of Growth in Public Library Use.  (1/12/2011)