Churchill Library Board approves 2025–26 budget, will send it to county commissioners

The Churchill Library Board of Trustees approved a proposed budget for fiscal year 2025–26 and will forward the document to the Churchill County commissioners for their review and final action.

The board voted to accept the budget as submitted after library staff explained the draft holds most expenditure lines steady and raises only costs the library cannot control. "I literally went through line by line and tried to figure out how I could make the money stretch for as long as I could," said Kathy, a library staff member. "The only things I increased were the things that I knew I could not control," she said, naming consortium (co‑op) fees, utilities and copy‑maintenance costs.

Kathy said the county manager advised department heads this year not to ask for items they did not need because of revenue constraints; she said she used that guidance when preparing the draft. "Everything else I left alone just so we could get through another year to see we wouldn't have data ... on what we needed to actually increase or decrease for the next full year," she said.

Board members asked about two digital services. Kathy said Hoopla, a streaming and digital‑checkout service the library offers, charges differently than Libby. "Hoopla is open. Anybody can check out the same title, whereas Libby, it's 1 checkout, 1 patron," Kathy said. She told trustees the library is the only member of the consortium that offers Hoopla, that current funding covers Hoopla through the start of the next fiscal year, and that staff are studying options such as placing monthly caps by format (audiobook, television, etc.) to control costs. She said staff expect to return to the board with recommendations in April.

Jeff, a county staff member, described the approval process the board should expect: "The final approval comes from the county commissioners." He said the board's approval will be sent to the county commissioners, who may modify it; any returned changes would come back to the library board before the budget is finalized.

Trustee Sue moved to approve the agenda earlier in the meeting and later moved to accept the budget as submitted; the motion to adopt the budget passed without objection. The roll call at the start of the meeting recorded five trustees present: Sue; Jessica Rowe; Ryan Sworsick; Sarah Koehler; and Maddie Serna. The board took the vote on the budget by voice; the meeting record shows the motion carried.

The board did not receive any public comments at either public‑comment opportunity during the meeting. Next steps are administrative: staff will forward the approved draft to the Churchill County commissioners for their consideration, and the board expects to review any changes the commissioners return.