Tipp City library director warns House budget proposal would 'drastically reduce' library funding

Lisa Santucci, director of the Tipp City Public Library, told the Tipp City Council on April 18 that a proposed Ohio House budget change — described in her remarks as House Bill 96 — would “drastically reduce the funding for all public libraries” by eliminating the dedicated Public Library Fund and replacing it with a line-item budget.

Santucci said the library’s lobbyists have warned that within two years “all funding will be removed for public libraries in the state of Ohio” and that if a city wants a library “they’re gonna have to pay for it themselves,” as she put it. She said the change would amount to a reduction of more than $100 million in funding over the biennium compared with the governor’s proposal and that 39 counties could see immediate declines that might lead to closures.

Santucci described the services the Tipp City Public Library provides — literacy programs, job resources, technology access, tax-preparation assistance and community space — and said cuts would reduce hours, staffing and services. She also told the council staff recently had informed her of a loss of federal funding after the Institute of Museum and Library Services closed a funding program earlier in the month.

Santucci encouraged continued community advocacy and noted the immediate legislative timeline she had been given: an omnibus vote mentioned as occurring the next day in the transcript, a House vote scheduled the following Wednesday, and then a two-week Easter recess before the budget would move to the Ohio Senate.

Mayor Logan Rogers and council members acknowledged Santucci’s remarks and thanked the library staff; no action on the issue was taken at the meeting.