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Atherton finance staff: library excess funds will be split with county; $400,000 proposed for children’s garden design
Summary
Finance Director Robert Baron III reviewed the Atherton Library joint-powers arrangement and fund balances, telling the council that county-held excess library funds are available to the town for library services and proposing about $400,000 in FY25–26 for a children’s garden design and building improvements.
Finance Director Robert Baron III reviewed the Atherton Library joint-powers arrangement with San Mateo County and the town’s library fund balance at a joint May 7 meeting of the Atherton Town Council and the town’s Audit and Finance Committee. He said the county holds excess local property-tax funds “in trust” for the town and the JPA and that those funds may be used only for library services or capital work tied to the library.
Why it matters: the town’s library fund and the JPA balance affect how much cash Atherton can program for library operations, capital maintenance and new amenities such as the proposed children’s garden. Council members pressed staff on why new work is proposed so soon after the recent library construction.
Baron told the council the beginning FY25–26 library fund balance includes approximately $2.7 million in town-held funding plus about $2.1 million the county holds in trust for the town. After repaying earlier advances for the new library, staff estimated the town’s share of projected excess funds for FY25–26 at about $423,000. Baron said the town’s FY25–26 operating and planned capital outlays for the library total roughly $1,032,000, of which about $440,000 is proposed for building improvements and $200,000 for development of library program spaces.
On the children’s garden, staff said the project is in design and that about $400,000 is included in the FY25–26 capital component for the library. Council members asked why the library needs additional capital so soon after the new building’s completion; Baron and other speakers said usage patterns (larger children’s programs and outdoor needs) were not fully understood at the time of the original design and that the garden is a new element rather than an alteration of previous construction.
Public comment included one resident urging sensitivity to court (pickleball/tennis) conversions and neighborhood impacts; that comment was unrelated to the library fund decisions.
Next steps: staff will carry the proposed design allocation in the draft budget and return with any required agreements with San Mateo County Library JPA about using excess funds held in trust.
