Scott Williams, swilliams@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Scott Williams Shawano County residents can use local libraries for free, but if they travel into surrounding communities, those libraries might send Shawano County a bill.
Leader Photo by Scott Williams Shawano County residents can use local libraries for free, but if they travel into surrounding communities, those libraries might send Shawano County a bill.
Residents using out-of-county libraries would be billed directly by those libraries, under a proposal Shawano County is considering to save the county money.
County officials were upset earlier this year when they received bills exceeding $100,000 from neighboring counties for library services provided to residents who crossed the border.
The officials now are considering a proposal seeking a change in state law requiring neighboring libraries to collect payments from crossover library patrons rather than from the county.
The measure has been endorsed by a county committee and could go before the full County Board later this month.
County Supervisor Deb Noffke said the proposal is geared toward shedding light on a possible library funding problem, and encouraging state lawmakers to take action.
“We’re in favor of trying to get somebody’s attention,” Noffke said.
The Shawano City-County Library network operates libraries in Shawano, Bonduel, Birnamwood, Mattoon, Tigerton and Wittenberg. Residents frequently venture outside the county and use libraries elsewhere, including in Pulaski, Marion and Clintonville.
State law allows library systems to seek payment from neighboring counties under certain circumstances when cross-border borrowing occurs.
Gerri Moeller, director of the Outagamie Waupaca Library System, said it was too early for her to pass judgment on Shawano County’s proposal for billing library patrons directly.
“I think that’s a pretty big change, not at all a simple one,” Moeller said.
Shawano County this year received bills of $75,478 from the Outagamie Waupaca Library System, as well as $58,479 from Brown County and $7,975 from Langlade County. Officials in those library systems contend that their taxpayers should not be paying to provide free services to residents of Shawano County.
Shawano County could likewise send bills to nearby counties, but few surrounding residents cross over to use Shawano County libraries.
County officials have tried seeking legislative relief, but have been unable to persuade any state lawmakers to take up the issue.
The resolution endorsed this week by the county administrative and insurance committee says the current library funding formula has “unintended financial consequences” for Shawano County, and that it results in “inequitable taxation” for residents who do not use neighboring libraries but still must help pay the cost.
The measure urges state lawmakers to authorize counties to notify adjacent counties that they should “invoice out-of-county residents directly” for library usage.
County Supervisor Milton Marquardt, who also serves on the library board, said the ideal arrangement would make public libraries free for all Wisconsin residents, regardless of where they live. But without such sweeping reform, Marquardt said, the current formula needs adjustment to save counties the crossover expenses.
“We’re going to have to do something different,” he said.