Citrus County library board defers millage decision to county commissioners; motion passes 7-0

At a preliminary budget hearing in July, the governing body of the Special Library District of Citrus County voted 7-0 to defer setting the library millage to the Citrus County Board of County Commissioners, saying the library’s budget should be considered alongside the county’s full budget. The motion was made by Commissioner Jeff Kennard and seconded by First Vice Chair Diana Finnegan and passed by voice vote.

The board’s vote followed extended discussion about a discrepancy between last year’s actual spending and the library’s proposed budget for the coming year. First Vice Chair Diana Finnegan raised concern about what she described as “another million dollars” in increased taxpayer burden and said she would “want to roll this millage back.” Department of Management and Budget Director Tammy Wilson explained that the item before the board was only to defer the decision on setting the millage from the Special Library District to the Board of County Commissioners.

Finnegan and other commissioners pressed staff for detail on the apparent budget increase. Finnegan and other speakers cited corrected ad valorem tax figures printed in the budget book: a correction from $5,014,430 to $5,074,003.21 and an overall bottom-line correction that, when compared with last year’s actual spending of about $4,000,005.34, produced a stated difference of roughly $1,062,837. Finnegan described that gap as a reason to consider rolling back the millage; other commissioners said they understood the library’s value but noted the county faces larger budget decisions ahead.

Tammy Wilson and a staff member identified as Mr. Chang answered procedural questions, saying the millage question would be handled during the countywide millage vote. A staff member identified in the meeting as Adam (staff) explained how the library handles books that fall out of demand: the system buys multiple copies of popular titles to shorten wait lists, then either returns copies to a vendor that provides credit under a "sustainable shelves" program, has Friends of the Library sell them, or discards books unfit for resale. Adam said there is a staff-time cost to reconsideration requests, but that the cost is absorbed by existing staff duties rather than added payroll.

A resident, John Labriola of Inverness, spoke during the public comment period supporting Finnegan’s push for fiscal caution and specifically questioned a line item the resident characterized as $312,000 for purchasing 1,300 books per month; the resident thanked the board for deferring the decision so the countywide budget could be considered.

Other procedural items on the agenda included an initial motion to approve minutes, moved by Commissioner Kennard and seconded by Commissioner Rebecca Bays, which passed 7-0; the board later moved and passed a motion to reconsider that approval after members noted the minutes were not attached to the packet. The board closed public comment before taking the final vote to defer the millage. The full millage decision will be part of the County Commissioners’ upcoming budget meeting, scheduled to begin at 9:00, according to remarks at the hearing.

The board adjourned the preliminary hearing after the votes.