Franklin City committee recommends prioritizing new carpeting, delays furniture purchases

The Franklin City Billing and Grounds Committee on June 25 recommended reprioritizing its capital improvement request to put new carpeting ahead of replacement meeting-room chairs and other furniture, and to present the revised request to the full board for approval.

Committee members said city budget pressures make delaying furniture purchases appropriate. The committee chair, Annie Vitas-Oklubja, relayed that a city finance committee member had reported “net new construction was only 1.4%” and that the city was handling a new police contract and higher insurance costs. She said, “Maria's opinion was we probably should not do the furniture next year.”

Why it matters: the committee’s recommendation changes the library’s list of capital priorities that the city will consider in its budget process. The change also reflects committee concern about the city’s limited new revenue and competing demands for funds.

Most important facts: the committee agreed to remove meeting-room chairs from the current capital request and to propose carpeting in their place as a 2026 project. Chair Annie Vitas-Oklubja told members she would edit the city capital-improvement submission to remove the meeting-room chairs and add carpeting under building improvements. She said carpeting cost was “about $18” (the transcript does not specify units or whether that is per square foot). The members agreed to consider moving funds originally proposed for furniture toward desks and carpeting so the net cost change would be smaller.

The committee also discussed alternative funding for other items. Vitas-Oklubja said the library foundation would be a more likely funder for replacement desks and soft seating than the city, and suggested asking the foundation to cover some furniture needs. She said the children’s-area redesign would have to come from fundraising: “The children's area redesign would have to come from fundraising,” she said, noting potential donors have already expressed interest. The committee discussed selling an oversized desk on the Wisconsin Surplus auction site to reduce furniture inventory.

Budget and service impacts: members noted the largest line in the capital submission was library materials and that the city’s finance picture would likely require reducing that request. The committee indicated it would remove a line for self-check stations because that item has been completed. A committee member also said digital services such as Hoopla may not be sustainable without continued funding: “I'm not gonna be able to keep Hoopla next year,” Vitas-Oklubja said.

Next steps: the committee agreed the chair will revise the capital-improvement forms to reflect the carpet-first recommendation and reduced material request, then present the recommendation to the full board at the next meeting.

The committee took no final city-level action on funding during the meeting; it prepared a recommendation to forward to the full board and to city finance staff for consideration.