WALTHALL — The Board of Supervisors discussed funding for the Webster County Public Library last week.
The Culture and Recreation fund in the 2019-20 county budget shows $43,300 appropriated for the Tombigbee Regional Library System, which is headquartered in West Point and serves eight branches in Clay, Monroe and Webster counties. The member libraries in Webster are the Webster County Public Library in Eupora and the Mathiston Public Library.
Budget line items in the same fund for “Eupora Library” (the Webster County Public Library) and “Mathiston Library” are listed separately with no funding appropriated for either.
According to discussion at a recessed meeting on Friday and previous meetings, the appropriation for TRL represents an additional $6,000, which is half the increase requested by its director this summer. That amount includes $5,000 the board had been budgeting for the Eupora library (as the county library) plus an additional $1,000 for this fiscal year. The latter amount is listed as the actual increase for the Culture and Recreation fund, which also includes $2,000 each (no change) for the Eupora and Mathiston parks.
Supervisors said they diverted the $5,000 in funding for the county library to the regional library system because they understood that the Eupora library turned that funding over to the library system anyway.
The county did budget $1,620 for the Library Building fund, which is the same amount as the previous fiscal year. This includes $500 each for building repair/labor and building repair/supplies, $520 for pest control and $100 for consumable supplies.
Librarian’s Letters
Librarian Fran Smith of the Webster County Public Library has written three letters to the board since October pertaining to funds for the local library.
“This ($5,000) is money the library receives ($417 per month) to pay bills for the local library which TRL does not pay — light, water, gas, janitorial, phone, fax etc.,” Smith wrote. “If the Board of Supervisors takes the money from Webster Library, where will the money come from to pay bills?”
She attached a sheet that was part of a PowerPoint presented by TRL Director Tanna Taylor in July describing where the money for libraries comes from (state funds, city and county). The board discussed that letter at its Oct. 7 meeting but tabled any action pending further information from the library.
In an Nov. 12 letter, Smith noted she had previously asked for clarification of the money to be sent to the WCPL. She included a list of building expenses for October totaling nearly $650.
“County gives $417 and city (of Eupora) gives $350. Some months there is a little left over but other months the amount does not cover it so it balances out at the end of the year,” Smith wrote.
As of that day, Smith said no one had contacted her to discuss the matter, adding, “This is something that needs to be addressed and not forgotten. The people of this area need this library. Please contact me to explain how the library bills are to be paid.”
On Friday, board members discussed a Dec. 11 letter from Smith in which she wrote, “I have explained to you the use of the funds received locally. I have asked for someone to come discuss this with me. I don’t understand your taking funds from one place and putting it in another. You are not adding to the funding for the library. The voters in the county are concerned with this situation and I cannot explain it to them. If the county wants to pay the bills for the library, that can be arranged.”
Board Discussion
During Friday’s discussion, board members again indicated that they diverted the $5,000 in local library funding to TRL because they thought Smith had previously said she forwarded it to the regional library system anyway.
“We only did what they asked us to do,” said Paul Crowley (District 4), who later added, “We thought we were doing the right thing.”
Referring to the utility bills and other local expenses that Smith stated TRL does not pay for the library, board President Pat Cummings said Smith had previously said “they paid everything.”
Board attorney Buchanan Meek Jr., in summarizing the board’s action, said, “We gave them $1,000 more (than we did last year) but it’s going directly to Tombigbee.”
Cummings said, “That budget is final and completed until July,” referring to when the board will begin working on the next budget. He asked Meek to write a letter to Smith explaining the county’s position and that “nothing’s going to change until July.”
The board recessed until 8:30 a.m. Dec. 31.
