The Great Falls Public Library has expanded its Monday hours as part of increased levy funding approved by voters last summer.
Starting March 4, the library will be open Mondays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The library had previously been open noon to 6 p.m. on Mondays.
Hours for the rest of the week remain the same, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Phone service hours remain the same: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, Friday and Saturday and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The pickup window is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
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In June 2023, voters approved an amendment to the city charter, increasing the allowable mills for the library from two to 17.
Library staff and board members said the increased funding would allow for expanded hours, programs and services and the staff needed to support those programs.
When the library began their levy effort, the increase to 17 mills was estimated to generate another $1.5 million for library operations, but it was a reappraisal year for the Montana Department of Revenue and for many, property values increased, so those mills generated another $382,725, according to the city finance department.
That means the library could receive closer to $2 million in the current budget.
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But those numbers don’t account for tax collection rates or tax protests. Calumet has filed a significant tax protest that equates to about $1 million in tax revenue not available to the city this year while the protest is being addressed.
The library previously received a $350,000 subsidy from the city’s general fund annually, but with the levy passage, that contribution ceased.
The library board also has a management agreement with the City Commission from 1993 that contributes seven mills to the library fund.
For the current budget, library staff estimates the tax revenue from those seven mills as $838,809.69, or 24 percent of their expected revenue this year.
During their Feb. 27 meeting, the library board discussed their management agreement with the city, after Commissioner Rick Tryon had again asked fellow commissioners to reconsider that agreement during their Feb. 20 meeting.
Tryon has indicated he wants to consider the library’s seven mills for public safety funding.
Susie McIntyre, library director, told the board during their Feb. 27 meeting that the city had a library since 1892 that has operated as a city department.
State law changed for libraries and the city decided it needed a more specific agreement, which led to the 1993 management agreement still in force currently, McIntyre said.
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About two years ago, the Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority, which is the city’s insurance provider, said they wouldn’t cover libraries unless they had some sort of management agreement with the city, McIntyre said.
She said MMIA reviewed the existing library management agreement with city officials and determined it met their insurance coverage requirements.
Regarding the city commission’s interest in renegotiating their management agreement, McIntyre said she didn’t know if the city had a plan for how the process would work.
Her understanding from the last commission meeting was that the city would form a small committee with the city manager, city attorney and one or more commissioner to start the discussion.
“This would be a long process,” McIntyre told the board, and any renegotiated agreement would have to go before the library board and commission for approval.
McIntyre told the board that saying they’re open to talk about renegotiation doesn’t obligate them to make any changes.
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During the meeting, Whitney Olson, library board chair, read notes from Jessica Crist, a library board member who couldn’t attend the Feb. 27 meeting.
Crist wrote that she was “deeply frustrated” that the library board and staff had planned ahead and discussed the funding structure and then be “essentially abandoned by the city” during the levy process, including no legal assistance when it became clear it was needed to ensure a fair election. The library sought outside counsel for that effort and filed a lawsuit to get a court appointed election monitor.
Crist said the continuance of the management agreement was articulated and understood by city leadership two years ago.
Now, she said, “the city is proposing taking money away from the library because the library mill was successful. Where is the support of the city leadership, where is the gratitude, where is the acknowledgement that the library is an essential part of the City of Great Falls, not an abandoned step child.”
Ann Bulger, library board member, said that the community voted for additional library funding and the funding structure, including the management agreement, was laid out during the process and how it would work if the levy was approved.
Bulger said there’s no rush and they should create a subcommittee of the board to research options should the board opt to renegotiate the agreement since “there’s so many questions.”
Several community members said they supported considering options, but also that they supported the library and the increased funding as approved by voters.
Some, including Jeni Dodd, were opposed and said the library board hadn’t given annual updates to the city.
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Sam DeForest, library board member, said she understood the commission was in a difficult position with limited resources but that they haven’t said what it is they want to negotiate.
She said, if the 1993 date were removed from the agreement, “what is wrong with it?”
DeForest said she’d like to hear from the city what specifically they don’t like about the agreement.
Noelle Johnson, who was appointed to the library board last fall, said that she felt it was disrespectful for the board not to negotiate.
Bulger said she wasn’t suggesting they don’t negotiate, but wanted more information going into that discussion and didn’t think that was disrespectful.
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Johnson said that wasn’t what she meant.
The board voted to create a subcommittee to review the agreement and research options and report back to the full board at their next meeting in March.
McIntyre also recommended that the board seek outside legal counsel to help them navigate the renegotiation process as “this is a big deal.”
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Since the city attorney will advise the commission and city staff on the agreement, McIntyre said it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to advise the library board as well.
She said the agreement is about 24 percent of the library’s overall budget so it needs to line up with city and state codes.
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McIntyre said it’s not an adversarial move, but that it was important the board get good legal advice.
The board approved up to $10,000 for outside counsel.
McIntyre said the board is scheduled to present to the commission during their March 19 work session.
