GREAT FALLS — There were two items regarding the library at the November 19th City Commission meeting. The first was the termination of the agreement between the City of Great Falls and the Great Falls Library that has been in place since 1993.
Many people were outspoken about why this was not a good idea to terminate, saying that pitting the library against public safety isn't the right way to do it. They say that the money from the library mills from the 1993 agreement wouldn't be enough for public safety anyway.
The library stressed that the voters supported enhanced funding, not replacement funding. One citizen said there'd be no point in voting for levies in the future if this would mean reallocation of resources after a levy was passed.
However, some feel like it should be terminated. They felt that because voter turnout was low when the library levy passed, it doesn't represent the whole city.
They also think that the city commission going to the library with a last, best final offer should have been the final offer and not had it go to additional discussion.
Ultimately, the 1993 agreement was terminated with a vote of 4 to 1.
The second issue on the list was the 2024 management agreement between the City of Great Falls and the Board of Trustees of the Great Falls Public Library, for services and financial support through June 30th, 2029.
This new agreement leaves 3.5 mills for four additional years, after which a new discussion would need to be had between the library and the city. This is more than the library proposed, which was offering to give 2.5 mills instead of 3.5.
The update of 3.5 mills for the next five years passed 4 to 1.
The library projects that the loss of these mills will add up to over $421,000 of lost revenue. They will also have to walk back some of the promises they made after the levy passed last year.
