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Beaufort County libraries report $5.2 million in impact fees, rising circulation and heavy digital spending
Summary
Library staff told the Beaufort County Library Board the system has $5.2 million in impact fee funds, strong year-to-date circulation and is spending a large share of materials money on Hoopla and other digital services.
Beaufort County Library officials told the library board they are carrying about $5.2 million in impact-fee funds and expect to spend nearly $1 million on materials before the end of the fiscal year.
At the board’s meeting, the library system’s financial presenter said the $5.2 million balance includes roughly $4.2 million associated with the old impact-fee system and just under $1 million in the new system, and that about half of the total is already earmarked for projects including Pritchardville, Bluffton Phase 2 and Hilton Head.
The financial report also showed year-to-date materials spending of about $521,000 and projected remaining spendable materials funds of about $984,000 when combining county funds, unspent state aid and anticipated Friends’ contributions. The presenter said Hoopla accounted for roughly 72% of the materials dollar total to date, noting that timing of invoicing for subscriptions and book purchases affects the monthly snapshot.
Library Director Amanda reported systemwide usage gains: as of April 30 the system had issued 5,630 new library cards in the fiscal year, compared with 4,286 in the prior year, and the average monthly circulation this year is 72,835 items. She framed the usage increases as a strategic goal under the library’s user-experience objective.
Board members asked about the impact-fee earmarks and whether large balances guarantee project timing. Amanda described the county capital-project ranking process, saying departments submit requests annually and a county committee sets priorities and schedules projects. County Administrator Michael Moore, who addressed the board earlier in the meeting, described budget work underway in the administration and confirmed the county is reviewing capital requests as part of the broader budget process.
No formal vote was taken on spending decisions during the meeting; board members were updated on balances, recent expenditures and planned purchases and were told additional materials purchases are likely before fiscal year-end.
Board business at the meeting included approval of the minutes and routine committee reports.
