Colfax Public Library retains morning hours despite budget cuts

COLFAX – The Colfax Public Library will be tightening its belt this upcoming fiscal year after the Colfax City Council approved a $7,000 cut to its budget at the council’s March meeting.

With general fund expenses projected to increase by $4,333, the library board had to make a tough decision – remove its recently added morning hours or find another place to save money.

Luckily for the regular patrons who depend on the morning hours, the library will be doing the latter.

“By being careful, I think we will be able to keep all the services that we are already offering and not have to diminish the services we have at the library. ... We provide services for people who may can’t afford to have a computer at home or Wi-Fi,” Colfax Public Library Director Jill Miller said. “If we need to tighten our belt in other areas, it would be well worth it.”

After decades of opting out, Colfax Public Library decided to accept about $19,000 in funding from Jasper County to help support the library’s budget this fiscal year. Last year, the library had a budget of $47,549. Following the Jasper County Public Library Association’s approval of the Colfax facility’s request to receive county funding and a $7,000 budget increase from the city, the library board estimated the budget to be raised from an estimated $62,130 and decided to opt-in for the county funding for FY 2018-19.

In response, the Colfax Public Library Board decided to expand the library’s operating hours – adding morning time blocks Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and hiring a part-time employee to work the six morning hours, according to Miller.

After a budget work session Jan. 17, the Colfax City Council decided to reduce the library fund in order to help continue to work down the city’s general fund deficit. The deficit was at -$96,278 in 1998, but by 2016, the deficit hit more than $900,000.

Following the January work session, the City of Colfax had a projected end balance of -$482,842 for June 20, 2019.

“The library budget never increased by $19,000,” library board member Mary Poulter said during a Colfax City Council work session April 2. “The city would be out $19,000 if Jill hadn’t gone out and pushed that. It took two years of them redoing and financing. When the city was informed they would be getting the $19,000, our budget was only increased $7,000. We took that $7,000 and increased our hours of operation. Now we are being told, ‘We are cutting that $7,000 you got.’ ... we are already slim in our budget.”

With the $19,058 acquired from the county placed into the city’s general fund, the library is currently budgeted $55,910 for FY 2018-19. Miller said this does not include FICA and employee health benefits.

“(The county funding) is just like ambulance and police funds, and everything. It is all poured into the general fund,” Colfax City Clerk Nancy Earles said during April work session. “General fund pays for fire, ambulance, inspections, library, the pool, the parks, city administration.”

As the extended hours and personnel are already in place, the library board decided to continue the additions it originally made, but offset the costs by lowering money allocated in other areas.

The library reduced the funds for building maintenance by $1,000, miscellaneous supplies by $500, office supplies $500, books by $1,000 and computer software by $1,000. The city also removed the library’s equipment revolving fund after having it in place for one fiscal year. This would have required a $3,000 transfer out of the general fund account.

Miller said the library recently installed new sidewalks and replaced the carpet in the meeting room. In addition, the library purchased four new computers thanks to $2,250 grant from the Jasper Community Foundation. With these recent upgrades and a little relief from the $3,000 placed in equipment revolving fund in FY 2017-2018, the library director said the public facility should be fine with the budget cuts in place as long as no major emergency occurs.

“We had property (tax) roll back and we had to cut $50,000. We had to cut it from somewhere,” Karla Jones said during the April 2 meeting. “I don’t think this is going to stay like this forever. We were $937,000 in the red then Nancy (Earles) came here. We have some tough decisions to make. We got to get this ship turned around and get on target so we can do more things for our city ... we had budget cuts everywhere.”

Other cuts made to the general fund budget for FY 2018-19 include $7,075 to the police department, $25,000 in inspections, $9,190 in parks, $4,000 from the city pool and $1,000 in election expense.

“The city council is moving in the right direction of trying to get the budget balanced and getting the infrastructure in Colfax, which ultimately is going to attract more people and increase the tax base,” Miller said. “Slowly, attendance has been increasing. We have had people waiting for the library to open at 10 a.m. ... In the future, I would like us to expand our hours even more.”

The library in Prairie City is a Jasper County facility categorized in the same size code as Colfax for the State Library’s annual survey for FY 2016-17.

According to the survey, Prairie City received $32,479 from the city, resulting in a $19.33 city income per capita for FY 2016-17. The library also received $17,177 in county funding, and had a total income per capita of $32.25.

In Polk County, Mitchellville had $77,734 in city funding this fiscal year, $34.49 in city income per capita, $6,080 in county funding and $57.27 in total income per capita for FY 2016-2017.

For FY 2016-17, the Colfax Public Library had a total income of $65,368 – with a city income amount of $62,046, resulting in $29.64 in city income per capita. It had a total income per capita of $31.23. This fiscal year, the library did not receive county funding.

This fiscal year, the average library of the same size category as Colfax received $66,765, $43,06 city income per capita and $62.02 total income per capita.

To view the complete results, visit statelibraryofiowa.org. For more information about Colfax Public Library, visit colfax.lib.ia.us or call 515-674-3625.

Contact Anthony Victor Reyes at areyes@jaspercountytribune.com.