Washington County funding proposal would raise Tualatin’s library allocation to about $2.01 million under draft plan; county general‑fund support remains uncomm
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Summary
City staff and the Tualatin Public Library director reported on a Washington County Cooperative Library Services draft funding model that would increase Tualatin’s funding to roughly $2.01 million in year one under an implementation plan that includes guarantees to limit year‑one losses.
City staff and the Tualatin Public Library director updated the council on a draft funding and governance proposal from the Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) process that would change how county library levy and county general‑fund revenues are allocated to each partner library.
Jeriann Thompson, Tualatin Public Library director, described the process as “the messy middle” of change management and said the county and partners are still refining service areas, service populations and a funding methodology. The consultant and county staff have proposed a formula that converts a library’s service population into “funding units” and multiplies those units by a per‑FTE cost factor; for Tualatin the draft calculation is 30,148 residents in the service area, which the methodology translates to 15 funding units and a base allocation of $1,920,000.
To avoid abrupt funding swings, county staff proposed an implementation plan that guarantees at least a 5% increase for every library in year one and phases in larger increases for underfunded libraries (Aloha and Forest Grove) over multiple years. Under the proposed implementation adjustments, Tualatin’s allocation would rise from the $1.92 million base to approximately $2,010,000 in the first year.
Thompson said the proposed funding plan also includes a centralized collection‑management initiative; county staff estimate centralization costs at about $4.7 million and intend to launch planning with a consultant in January 2027 if the plan proceeds. Library directors warned that WCCLS might need to reallocate or reduce some countywide services during the transition to centralization, and Thompson said the county has not committed in writing to a stable annual general‑fund transfer, which is a key variable in the cooperative’s five‑year revenue modeling.
Thompson and city staff urged councilors to note three uncertainties: (1) Washington County’s general‑fund transfer has not been guaranteed; (2) the centralization plan’s costs and potential service reductions are still being defined; and (3) the proposed service‑area map and allocations are draft and subject to change after county staff and board deliberations.
Why it matters: The plan seeks to address long‑standing inequities between county libraries and the nonprofit libraries that joined the cooperative, but it also shifts funding and service decisions to countywide administration and requires councilors to weigh tradeoffs between equity, local control and the risk of reduced local services during the collection centralization transition.
Next steps: Washington County scheduled additional work‑session briefings and the County Board of Commissioners will continue deliberations; city staff said they will track outcomes and report back to Tualatin council if the county makes formal commitments or changes to proposed allocations or the centralization timeline.