Becker County commissioners press Lake Agassiz Regional Library on formula, brace for budget decision

Lake Agassiz Regional Library representatives told the Becker County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 8 that the library system is requesting an additional $40,790 from Becker County for 2026 to maintain services and cover recently approved wage increases.

The request came during a presentation by Lake Agassiz regional representative Liz Lynch, who described services across the system's seven-county footprint and said Lake Agassiz used reserves to cover a 2025 wage increase and cannot sustain that practice. "If the budgetary request is not met, we would have to reduce hours in Becker County dollar for dollar," Lynch said, noting the library's "eighty-ten-ten" formula for allocating a signatory share: 80 percent tied to where library cardholders live, 10 percent to population and 10 percent to property value.

Commissioners pressed Lynch and county staff for the data underpinning Becker County's share, saying the county appears to be paying more per capita and per service than nearby Clay County. Commissioner Barry said Becker County's proposed payment — about $477,840 in the packet — was difficult to reconcile with local service levels: "I look at $477,000 and I see that we're paying for three satellite sites that are open six hours a week each. That's hard to swallow." Several commissioners asked for counts of users and hours for Becker County link sites and for comparable figures from Clay County, excluding city contributions.

Lynch said the request uses the regional formula and noted that the joint powers agreement requires a proportional approach; she said the library board had not kept pace with inflation for frontline wages and had completed a salary study that led to sizable increases in 2025. Lynch also explained that the joint powers formula subtracts city contributions (for example Detroit Lakes) before allocating the county's share for residents outside city limits. "We are requesting an additional $40,790 ... this is to just maintain services," Lynch said.

Commissioners asked for more detail before budget adoption. Commissioner Phil asked the library to provide counts of link-site usage and circulation specific to Becker County residents outside Detroit Lakes; Lynch said she would supply those numbers before the county's budget work session next week. Several commissioners suggested revisiting the allocation formula, with one proposing that the county examine whether the 80-percent weight on cardholders still reflects service delivery and equity among signatories.

The board did not vote on the library request at the meeting and instead set a follow-up for the county's upcoming budget work session, asking staff to deliver: (1) usage statistics for Becker County link sites and Detroit Lakes library cardholders, (2) a clearer breakout of how the eighty-ten-ten formula produces Becker County's proposed percentage change, and (3) options the county could consider if it seeks to negotiate or change the funding formula.

For now, Lynch emphasized the consequence spelled out in the joint powers agreement: reduced county funding would produce hour-for-hour reductions in county coverage. "If the budgetary request is not met, we would have to reduce hours in Becker County dollar for dollar," she said.

The library presentation was the most extensively discussed single topic at the meeting; commissioners asked county finance staff to compile comparative figures so the board can decide during the next budget meeting.