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Newton County Library board warns funding shortfall will force cuts after 16 years of flat appropriation
Summary
Library trustees and staff urged the Board of Commissioners to increase county funding for FY26, saying 16 years of flat local support and rising personnel and benefits costs have exhausted reserves and forced deep staff reductions.
Zach Ames, chair of the Newton County Library Board, and Library Director Lise Keaton told the Board of Commissioners at the FY26 appropriation workshop that the system needs an increase in county funding after 16 years without a substantive rise.
Ames said the library has operated for years on a shrinking reserve and flat county appropriations. "This is year 16 that we were asking for an increase," he said, adding the board wants to keep libraries open and expand services. Keaton told commissioners the system circulated about 220,000 items in FY24 and handled roughly 81,000 in-person visits despite a two-month closure for repairs at the Covington branch.
The treasurer of the library board, Frank Turner, warned of immediate financial pressure if the county does not…
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