Director outlines FY26 budget outlook, CIP projects and $1.67M special-library funds

Library Director Jeff Collins expanded the board's packet at the Feb. 18 meeting with updates on the FY2026 operating budget, the five-year capital improvement program (CIP) and progress on renovation work at the main library and Fairmount branch.

Collins said the city's FY2026 budget workshops occurred in early February and that the library's request is currently reflected as status quo with an overall recommended increase of about 1.9% driven primarily by negotiated employee salary and benefit costs. He reminded trustees that the city must have an approved budget by statute by April 30 and that the library's formal budget approval deadline was April 23 in the city timeline.

Key CIP items Collins cited include a $465,000 allocation for library materials purchases and $130,000 for IT and electronics replacement over the CIP period. Collins reported five active CIP projects in the current fiscal year, including completed AV upgrades at Fairmount and ongoing work: glycol replacement and heat-pump repairs at branches, design work to replace Fairmount's roof (with roof replacement planned the following year) and work on the main library renovation phase 2.

Progress on main library renovations includes installed handrails at the front entrance (painting to follow), reinstalled book drop, a new street monument sign, a completed special collections workroom and installation of the public service desk for special collections. Collins said storefront walls that remain to be installed are the project's major remaining piece and that those walls were expected late March or early April.

Collins said the city hired a new finance director and that he and library staff met with her on Feb. 12 to set up a follow-up meeting with the library finance committee in mid-March to discuss roughly $1,670,000 remaining in the library's special fund at the end of the last fiscal year.

Other items in the director's report included plans for a joint staff development day with Bendorf Public Library on April 10; strategic planning engagement figures (nearly 2,000 community survey respondents and more than 100 partner survey responses); a new disaster plan for special collections and facility response; and an update on pending state legislation (House File 274) concerning obscenity and liability for libraries.

Collins said the library's "stat of the month" — an internal calculation based on circulation and program attendance using an external library-value calculator — estimated the annual value of library use to the community at about $9.7 million on a FY2024 budget of roughly $6.0 million.

Trustees asked about timing and budget pressures; Collins said the city budget process and fund accounting provide several mechanisms, and that the library staff and city finance have been coordinating to manage increases.

Ending: Collins said updated CIP schedules and the strategic planning insights will be shared with the board as they become available.