Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Libraries topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Library CEO highlights capital projects, staffing pay increases and new branches in FY26 proposal
Summary
Anne Arundel County Public Library CEO Skip Old described requested supplemental funding and capital projects in the FY26 proposal, including Discoveries expansion, Glen Burnie redesign (target 2028 opening), Brooklyn Park funding, and partnership plans for Millersville and Edgewater community facilities.
Skip Old, chief executive officer of the Anne Arundel County Public Library System, briefed the County Council on May 14 about the library system’s priorities in the FY26 budget proposal and related capital projects.
Old thanked the county for proposed cost-of-living and merit increases for library employees (the executive proposed a 3% COLA and 3% merit for library employees, he said) and for prior market-adjustment funding that brought library pay to parity with peer systems. He described several capital and partnership projects: a 3,000-square-foot expansion at the Discoveries Library, a Glen Burnie library project moving toward a likely 2028 opening, a proposed Brooklyn Park project budgeted at $4 million in the FY26 proposal, and efforts to site a Mountain Road Library potentially at county-owned property near Lakeshore Athletic Complex. He also noted plans to colocate a new Millersville library at a YMCA facility and a transfer of construction management for the Edgewater Community and Recreation Center to the county’s resilience authority to speed delivery.
Old identified supplemental budget requests for the library system and reaffirmed appreciation for the executive’s proposed pay increases, saying the proposals will help recruitment and retention. He also described Discoveries Library program growth and metrics, saying Discoveries provides more kindergarten-readiness programs than any other library in the county and that the system ranks number one in children's programs and attendance among Maryland public library systems on some measures.
Next steps: these project plans and supplemental requests were presented during the FY26 public hearing; the council will consider capital and operating appropriations in the coming budget deliberations.
Ending: The council received the library presentation; final project funding and timelines will depend on council action and capital planning.
