Negotiations could jeopardize funding for Great Falls library

GREAT FALLS – Negotiations are underway between city officials and the Great Falls Public Library that could lead to changes in the library’s management and funding.

Negotiations began this spring, less than a year after Great Falls voters passed a measure to fund the libraries in June 2023. That successful campaign, contrasted with the unsuccessful measure to impose a public safety levy in 2023, overshadows discussions about the libraries today.

One result of the negotiations could be the reallocation of nearly a million dollars from the library’s budget to support public safety services.

“The City Commission’s proposal to renegotiate the library services contract by reallocating funds undermines the trust voters have placed in us,” said Whitney Olson, board chair of the Great Falls Public Library, in a written statement to the Montana Free Press.

Negotiations over the library were initiated by comments made by the City Commission earlier this year. Those comments date back to Jan. 16, when Commissioner Rick Tryon said he wanted to review the city’s existing budget to increase public safety funding. During a retreat at Fort Benton in April, commissioners fleshed out their plans to reexamine the library’s funding and management.

That began months of negotiations involving City Manager Greg Doyon, Councilmen Joe McKenney and Susan Wolfe, City Attorney David Dennis and Finance Director Melissa Kinzler representing the city. The library is represented by Director Susie McIntyre, board members Olson and Anne Bulger and attorney Bill Bronson. Bronson is also a former city councilman and current school board member.

The discussions were wide-ranging, Doyon said, and largely focused on a brief 1993 agreement outlining the library’s administrative structure. It states that the library director serves as a de facto department head and reports to the city manager. In practice, this role is different from other department heads because the library director also reports to a board that can levy taxes.

The 1993 agreement also established a funding framework, authorizing at least seven mills to support the library. For more than 30 years, this has been the basis of the facility’s budget, and library supporters hope to preserve this portion.

For years, the majority of the Great Falls Public Library’s funding came from a variety of sources. In addition to the seven mills in the 1993 agreement, the library received two mills as specified in the city charter. Prior to 2023, the library also received a subsidy from the city’s general fund, capped at $350,000 per year.

The 2023 tax campaign changed the city charter from two mills to 17 mills, which doubled the library’s operating budget to just over $3 million. As part of the successful tax campaign, the library eliminated $350,000 in general fund subsidies.

Since the introduction of the fee, the library has expanded its operations to seven days a week, expanded its digital offerings and its shuttle service, and resumed a home shuttle service for people with reduced mobility.

Now that 17 mills are enshrined in the city charter, the seven mills from the 1993 agreement are subject to negotiations. Based on the most recent mill value, this is approximately $925,000.

“Public safety is indeed a critical issue, and we fully support efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of our community,” Olson’s statement said. “However, we believe these efforts should not come at the expense of the library’s ability to meet its obligations to constituents.”

These seven mills could be used for the city’s public safety resources. The success of the library levy in spring 2023 is often compared to the failure of the public safety levy in fall 2023.

“The library levy came up and the community decided they wanted a vibrant, successful library and that was passed,” McKenney told MTFP. “And then the public safety levy came up and that was a really big request.”

The big ask came from a big need. Great Falls hasn’t had a significant public safety funding effort since the 1960s, when a general bond issue allowed for the construction of four fire stations and a training center.

The funding and staffing situation for Great Falls’ fire, police and court departments has been described as dire by city officials. One example is that the city has grown by more than 40% and Great Falls Fire Rescue is serving the area with a declining number of firefighters. The public safety levy, which totaled about $13 million annually, would have provided city departments with additional firefighters, police officers, court resources, building improvements and equipment.

This measure failed in November as almost two-thirds of voters voted against it.

“The timing couldn’t have been worse for us,” former Mayor Bob Kelly told the Great Falls Tribune at the time.

Following the success of the June 2023 library levy, homeowners were shocked in a new round of home assessments by the Montana Department of Revenue, with the median residential property value in Cascade County increasing 38%, bringing property tax concerns to the forefront of political discussions.

The situation for the public safety levy was difficult until November 2023. The requirement would have increased property taxes on most homes by hundreds of dollars.

So the difficult debate over public safety funding continued through 2024, putting library funding in the crosshairs. A public safety advisory committee created as part of the public safety levy specifically proposed allocating the library’s $7 million to public safety departments.

All of these factors are affecting library negotiations, which Doyon said are ongoing but close to completion. There is no set deadline for talks to conclude, and any action requires approval from the City Commission.

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