Two pieces of legislation that could help support the Great River Regional Library may not succeed in getting through with state lawmakers.

 

Karen Pundsack, GRRL Director, said neither have made it into any of the state’s budget bills so far.

 

Pundsack approached the Sherburne County Board last week to get its support by resolution.

 

HF 1382, introduced Feb. 16, is seeking a $3 million increase to $16,270,000 in 2018 and $16,570,000 in 2019 for basic support aid for libraries throughout the state.

 

Pundsack said 17% of their funding comes from the state. Currently, the funding formula is unpredictable and less fair to rural counties.

 

“A large portion of state funding for library services started shifting when tax capacities started shifting in the recession,” she said. “It’s recovering, but outstate Minnesota has seen a great decrease in the total amount of funding as a result.”

 

She said along with the increase in funding, the bill also asks for a change in the formula to make it more stable, and to change the calculation date.

 

“We want it changed so we would have the dollar amount prior to setting the GRRL budget, which has been a challenge for us,” she said. “In the past, we typically received that number after Aug. 1 and our budget has to be set by Aug. 1.”

 

She said the library board had to guess the amount of funding they would receive and use that number in their budget.

 

 “That number has fluctuated by as much as $20,000 more or $60,000 less than we thought we would be getting,” she said. Pundsack said the bill is supported by all 12 regional library system boards across the state.

 

The second bill is seeking a $4.25 million annual appropriation from the Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund in order to continue offering vital individual and community services to Minnesota residents.

 

Pundsack said the money will help support programs in libraries across the state.

 

“When state funding goes down, it’s either a cut in services or the supporting counties have to decide whether they’re going to bridge that gap.”

 

The Sherburne County Board passed a resolution of support.

 

On Tuesday, the Wright County board voted to send a letter of support.