Prairie Lakes Library System levy holds steady in recommended budget; county acts as pass-through for participating library payments

County staff explained the Prairie Lakes Library System levy in the 2026 recommended budget and said the system’s levy is outside the county’s levy limit and acts as a pass-through to municipalities that operate libraries.

Randy Light and budget staff said the Prairie Lakes System (formerly Arrowhead Library System) collects a levy — proposed at about $1.4 million for 2026, down about $39,000 or 2.7% from the prior year — to reimburse participating municipal libraries for services extended to county residents who live outside library municipal boundaries. Staff said Prairie Lakes administers two main categories of payments: participating-library payments to in-county municipal libraries (Beloit, Clinton, Edgerton, Janesville, Milton, Orfordville and others) and out-of-county reimbursement for Rock County residents who use libraries in other counties.

Supervisor questions noted the system’s formula differs from a uniform “standard” formula. Prairie Lakes officials in the meeting explained the reimbursement method was negotiated by the municipalities and is intended to reimburse municipalities for nonresident circulation and use; Prairie Lakes acts as a pass-through and the dollars are distributed to the municipal libraries.

Why it matters: The library levy is included in the county budget documents but is not counted toward the county’s property-tax levy limit; the levy funds countywide library access when residents live outside a municipal-library boundary.

Ending: Staff said the formula and reimbursement methodology are available through Prairie Lakes and that supervisors can obtain details of the formula on request.