Residents urge maintaining Sandy Library hours, warn cuts would harm students and seniors

Public commenters told the Sandy Budget Committee on May 5 that the Sandy Public Library provides indispensable services — internet access, after‑school supervision and one‑on‑one computer help — and asked the committee not to cut general‑fund support.

“I do not have a computer… To manage illness in this modern world, you need a computer, and the library provides that for me,” resident Lynn Freeman said during the public‑comment period, describing how library computer access has been essential while she cared for a spouse with cancer. Freeman also described youth programming that kept a local teenager “on a narrow path” after school.

Library users and a local teacher amplified the message. “I am personally a library super user,” teacher Nicole O’Neil told the committee. She said her dual‑credit world‑history classes and her own children rely on library books and programs. “As the mother of small boys who are reluctant readers, I need to be able to check out a lot of different books to find the things that they are going to read,” she said.

Another commenter, Heather Misha, asked the committee to consider consequences if hours were reduced, listing examples including middle‑schoolers who need printed sources for final exams, a 96‑year‑old senior who needs one‑on‑one help with email, and teens who use makerspace equipment. “If the hours are diminished… which of those services will we lose?” she asked.

Kathleen Drain, who identified herself as a resident of the unincorporated portion of the Sandy Library service district, presented a per‑capita funding chart she said shows unincorporated residents pay more per person to support the district than city residents. She calculated that equalizing the disparity would require the city add about $333,000 per year (roughly $666,000 per biennium) to the library budget; she noted the city already provides an in‑kind building and debt service that reduce but do not eliminate that gap.

Mayor Walker and other committee members responded with procedural context: there is no proposal at the May 5 meeting to reduce the library’s hours or services, staff said. City staff and the mayor encouraged residents to bring funding equity concerns to the Clackamas County library district during its public hearings; the mayor also described one‑time contributions the city has made in the past, such as funding for an outreach vehicle.

Committee members and staff clarified budget mechanics. Tyler (staff) explained that an apparent reduction in the city general‑fund contribution in the proposed biennium stems in part from one‑time items in the previous biennium — notably a $150,000 special contribution for a bookmobile — rather than an ongoing reduction of operating support.

The public‑comment speakers urged the committee to preserve or increase library funding and to support a robust level of hours and programs. The committee did not take a budget vote on library hours or staffing at this meeting; the speakers were heard during the public‑comment period and their statements were entered into the record.

Looking ahead, several committee members suggested county‑level action: the library district is the primary funding entity and a county task force is reviewing allocation formulas, the mayor said. Speakers encouraged residents to testify at the county public hearings scheduled for late May.

Ending: Committee members thanked residents for attending and for the submitted written comments that were added to the record. No formal budget action on library hours or a cut to library general‑fund support was proposed or adopted at this meeting.