The West Fargo Library Board approved its final budget for fiscal year 2026 on Oct. 9, finalizing allocations after the City Commission completed its own budget decisions.

Board members approved the final library budget after staff moved a portion of the furniture-and-equipment non-depreciated line to e-resources and print-books “in proportion to the circulation statistics for each of those collections,” Library Director Jenna said. "If the board approves, we are just looking for an approval then of the final budget for fiscal year 2026," she said.

The change was the only substantive edit from the preliminary budget the board had already approved. Jenna explained the City Commission sets the amount of funding the library receives but does not dictate how the library allocates those dollars across budget lines. "The city commission doesn't get to say how we allocate those funds across our budget lines. That's up to our governing board to decide that," Jenna said.

Trustees asked staff several clarifying questions during the discussion. One board member noted a year-over-year figure in the packet and asked whether it matched the city’s final book; staff said some lines had been cropped in the PDF but that the figures were unchanged from the preliminary budget. Jenna said the city had finalized its budget and the library received what it requested.

Board members also discussed the recent industry news that book vendor Baker & Taylor is closing. Alicia, the library’s office manager, said West Fargo already uses Ingram as its primary book vendor. "We switched to Ingram as our major book vendor several years ago and we've been working with them successfully for several years," Alicia said. Staff cautioned, however, that as other libraries migrate away from Baker & Taylor, Ingram could face onboarding delays that might slow delivery times even though West Fargo is already an established Ingram client.

Trustees asked whether the vendor change would affect interlibrary-loan service; staff said they did not anticipate immediate impacts but flagged a separate budget risk: postage for mailing interlibrary-loan items. "If postage charges go up ... we could see some budgetary impacts there," Jenna said, noting that federal or state funding changes could also affect service costs.

A motion to approve the final fiscal 2026 budget was moved and seconded and carried by voice vote; all present trustees voted in favor.

The board directed staff to update the city's budget book page so the library’s final allocations are displayed accurately for residents. Jenna said she will ensure the city budget page is corrected following the board’s approval.