Most of the funding the Sechelt Public Library requested from the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) has been approved, following Round 2 budget deliberations on March 4.
Directors voted unanimously to fund $833,893 – an increase of approximately 33 per cent over last year.
Originally, the library requested $857,471, including $10,000 to put back into reserves after it was used to recruit a new chief librarian. According to SCRD funding rules, money can’t be used to establish a reserve and so that amount was deducted from the total request.
The remaining amount included an increase to its base operational funding and a one-time capital request, staffing, and materials.
The decision-making process for the Sechelt library’s funding request was particularly involved this year because the memorandum of understanding that guided budget spends and apportionment expired last December, leaving directors with a blank slate.
Funding partners for the library are the District of Sechelt, shíshálh Nation (SIGD), Pender Harbour/Egmont, Halfmoon Bay and Roberts Creek.
Previously, Andreas Tize, director for Roberts Creek, committed to funding the Sechelt library at par with the Gibsons library, which this year requested an increase of 2.5 per cent. Roberts Creek is the only electoral area to pay into both libraries.
But keeping the spend at 2.5 per cent meant others would be faced with deciding whether to make up the $23,578 difference and what percentage of the amount they would pay.
Lori Pratt, director for Halfmoon Bay, and Leonard Lee, director for Pender Harbour/Egmont, agreed to fund their portion of the library’s original request, sticking closely to the MOU percentages – 19.86 for Area B and 4.88 for Area A – which means both areas are paying 36 per cent more than last year.
“I wish I had done my homework first,” said Lee of the library’s funding request, suggesting many of the services provided by the library are already offered by service providers such as the reading room and community school in Pender Harbour.
He said he was “comfortable” sticking to the historical apportionment percentages, “in the spirit of cooperation.”
Pratt also agreed to stay with the historical percentages. “It really bothers me to increase taxes or ask my constituents for more money, but we are a bedroom community of Sechelt, so I think we really need to support the library,” she said.
Before making her final decision to move ahead with Halfmoon Bay’s funding increase, Pratt told directors, “I will bleed words if I have to, but we really need to fund libraries in the way that is necessary to help our community grow and gel together.”
The District of Sechelt and SIGD had previously committed to funding the increase, putting the percentage they would pay at 64.88 and 1.84, respectively.
After hearing from the other rural directors, Tize said, “I’m starting to wonder if I should feel bad about the position I’m taking,” then repeated his rationale for keeping Roberts Creek at a 2.5 per cent increase, making its portion of funding 8.53 per cent. “Our residents of Roberts Creek are paying amongst the highest if not the highest amount for libraries on the Sunshine Coast and I was not able to justify increasing it again by that much.”
Directors also discussed the potential of changing how they approach funding the library, including whether to create a service for the library. The memorandum of understanding will be reviewed at another committee meeting.
