Great Bend Public Library Director Gail Santy went before the Great Bend City Council Monday night in an attempt to clear up any confusion with the Library’s budget going forward.
Previous years showed the City of Great Bend funding the Library $555,000 plus $100,000 that was used as a payment back to the City for a purchased HVAC system.
Confusion came from a payout in 2018 from an excess cash balance in the library fund. Santy says figuring out the payments from the fund will be accounted for in the future.
Gail Santy Audio
The Library is funded on a mill levy from city property, motor vehicle, and recreational vehicle tax. Barton County also collects delinquent tax that goes into a library fund.
The delinquent tax fund has been building up beyond what the budget authority has allowed to be paid out. The Library received a payout of approximately $72,000 from the fund in 2018, bumping their total budget to $727,000. The Library asked for $755,050 in 2019, but the City Council decided to fund the entity $690,000 to get closer to the original funding prior to the payout.
Not being funded at the same or higher amount from the previous year, the Library was set to lose out on state aid of over $21,000. Santy is working with the City to appeal the decision from the state, explaining the situation.
Gail Santy Audio
Santy feels confident in a favorable decision from the state regarding the funding.
City Clerk Shawna Schafer says the library fund from the County has been building up because it is receiving additional tax dollars that the City did not budget for in their three percent delinquent rate. Schafer says this means that more citizens are paying their delinquent taxes, which is good. Going forward, a $50,000 contingency line has been added to the Library’s fund so the City can make extra payments to the Library’s budget if the money is there.
Once the $920,000 HVAC system is paid off in 2023, the Library will be able to use the $100,000 each year that has been earmarked for a payment to the City for improvements.