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Library funding negotiations move forward

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Staff

By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

CHAPEL HILL — As the staff at the Chapel Hill Public Library start making plans to set up a workable temporary location at University Mall, town and county officials have drafted a framework for coming to a long-term agreement over funding and service sharing.

The framework, circulated to council members last Friday, names a series of topics for discussions by the Chapel Hill Town Council and the Orange County Board of Commissioners. The two boards have disagreed over the level of county funding for the Chapel Hill Public Library. During last year’s budget discussions, council members, eyeing the cost of the $16.3 million expansion of the library and resulting increases in operating expenses, called for the county to increase its support.

Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt said Wednesday that in addition to providing a starting point for the negotiations, the document lays out the priorities of both parties.

“Now we know what’s important to them and they know what’s important to us,” Kleinschmidt said.

The framework calls for a two-year agreement that would start on Jan. 1. It would increase funding beyond the current $250,000 the county annually contributes to the town by $75,000 each year. Use of the money would be restricted to collection development and materials acquisition.

The framework also outlines ways the county and town libraries could work more closely together, including a county-run courier service for sharing materials, joint issuance of library cards and better information exchanges between the library boards.

After the release of the framework, council member Laurin Easthom, who had sharply criticized the county during this year’s budget conversations, said she would insist on a better financial deal.

“I am not in support of any negotiation framework or negotiation that does not involve fiscal equity for the operational costs, which is what I thought that we were attempting to do with the county based on the discussion this past spring,” she wrote in an email to her colleagues.

Kleinschmidt said he expects the council to take up discussions early in the fall. He said he is hopeful the council can reach agreement with the county before the end of the calendar year. One factor driving the timeline, he said, was that the composition of the county commission will change at the end of the year. Commissioner Mike Nelson, one of the chief proponents of a new deal with the town, opted to not seek re-election and current board chair Valerie Foushee, one of the county’s lead negotiators, may rotate out of the leadership.

Kleinschmidt said their long-term history with the issue will be valuable in striking a deal.

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