Library Legislative Day

 

2-21-2025

Last week Tuesday, our Facebook followers would have seen a picture of Governor Evers delivering a welcome speech to a room full of librarians. Each year the Wisconsin Library Association organizes Library Legislative Day. This was my third opportunity to attend, but the first year I’ve screwed up the courage to do so. Have PLLS Trustee/ETLPL Trustee/Village Trustee Mary Hubbard Nugent with me for support helped with that.

The day started at the Best Western Premier Park Hotel right across the street from the Capitol building where Gov Evers delivered the first welcome speech followed by Representative Tony Kurtz, State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly, Assistant State Superintendent Dr. Darrell Williams, and Senator Dianne Hesselbein. All the speakers spoke of the value of libraries. More than one also mentioned librarians are the loudest group they usually see at the Capitol. That reassured me that I’m not a misfit after all.

Organizers scheduled appointments for the librarians to meet with their Representative and Senator in small groups. Mary and I met with Nathan Cobb, State Senator Nass’s Legislative Aide, and Representative Robin Vos.

At both meetings we spoke about the importance of libraries and specifically addressed proposed statute changes that would facilitate the formation of a joint library. For perhaps the past decade, the Town of Troy, Town of East Troy, and Village of East Troy have worked to combine resources and make their services more efficient and cost effective. The combined emergency services may be the ultimate example of their success in doing so. The formation of a joint library was intended to be part of that. The agreement was written, revised, accepted by relevant governing organizations and ready to sign in August 2022 when funding issues reared their ugly heads.

Library funding is a bit like public school funding; everybody pays it. However, the biggest difference lies in first where it fits in the tax bill and who receives the initial payment. In the case of the Village of East Troy, which houses the ETLPL, library funding is part of their tax levy and subject to those limits. The monies are collected and put right into our account. In contrast the Towns do not contain a public library. Their library funding is collected as part of their Walworth County taxes. Walworth County then passes it onto the library system that oversees the libraries their residents frequent. In our case that would be Prairie Lakes Library System, which later writes out checks for the individual libraries. The county tax is neither part of the Towns’ levies nor part of their levy limits. Becoming part of a joint library would change that.

The proposed change in statutes would alter that slightly. In forming a joint library and funding it directly, the change would identify that funding as a transfer of services. It would not increase the levy and is not meant to increase taxes. It simply shifts who receives the check.

Representative Vos was aware of the proposal and has one of his aides researching it looking for any unintended consequences to make certain it isn’t as simple as I indicated in the previous paragraph. His main question to me was, “What would you do with the additional funding?”

My internal answer was more sourdough.

Reading Now: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Listening to Now: The Colour of Mystery by Joy Ellis