Public commenters and the Faulkner County Library director defended library programs Tuesday as the county’s Budget & Finance Committee reviewed dozens of 2026 departmental budgets and moved most forward by voice vote.

Noah Elrod, who identified himself as a library employee, opened the public-comment period with a historical remembrance of the Faulkner County Library and its longtime service to residents. Several residents followed — including Joseph Hilton, Caleb Johnson, Buddy Tullis and Brooklyn Mason — stressing the library’s role in literacy, digital access and community programming.

"I would not have been able to get where I am today without funding to libraries," Joseph Hilton said, recounting how small-town library access shaped his education and career. Brooklyn Mason, a member of Conway Pride Community, said the library’s teen programs, internet access and community garden would be harmed by cuts and emphasized that LGBTQ people are taxpayers and library users who are entitled to public services.

Buddy Tullis warned the committee that cutting library funding because of perceived support for LGBT programming could amount to unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination, citing legal principles about viewpoint-based restrictions and warning of potential litigation and financial exposure if the county targeted the library on that basis.

John McGraw, representing the Faulkner County Library, told the committee the library saw roughly 318,000 visits in 2024 and has delivered dozens of outreach events, saying outreach is intended to increase access rather than to advocate for specific viewpoints. McGraw said outreach-event fees were typically covered by discretionary funds (fines/donations) and not by millage tax dollars, and that the library would present an outreach policy and a request system to the library board to improve transparency.

"The public library does not endorse any specific viewpoints or causes," McGraw said, while also urging the committee to preserve modest carryover funds for unanticipated building repairs and other emergencies.

On the agenda, committee members moved a proposed ordinance (25-31) into discussion and forwarded it to full court. The session then proceeded through a lengthy review of departmental budgets. The committee approved a series of fund appropriations — including the County Clerk’s general and special-cost funds, Elections and Voter Registration (noting roughly $100,000 in primary reimbursements), Circuit Court grant funds, Child Support, County Treasurer accounts and several assessor-related appropriations — primarily by voice vote with no roll-call tally recorded in committee.

Several technical questions arose in committee review: staff flagged a projection gap on the County Recorder fund and asked that item be tabled until Thursday to reconcile revenue and carryover figures. On the library budget, committee members proposed amending two capital lines — construction in progress (line 3018) and building improvements (line 4006) — to reduce or zero those amounts to bring the library’s appropriation into balance with projected carryover. McGraw opposed removing all contingency funds, saying the library had experienced building failures and HVAC problems this year and needed flexibility for emergencies.

After discussion, committee members moved to zero out the two line items and then voted to table the amended library budget until Thursday so the proposed changes could be written out and reviewed in detail before a final committee vote.

Other items handled Tuesday included discussion of the museum fund (where leaders said the executive-director post is currently vacant and asked that carryover be confirmed before altering appropriations) and a presentation from the Faulkner County Conservation District, which asked the committee to consider a reduced appropriation after a recent equipment purchase; that fund was approved by voice vote.

What’s next: the committee agreed to reconvene Thursday evening to receive written amendments and take final votes on tabled items, including the county recorder fund reconciliation and the amended library appropriation. No roll-call tallies were recorded in the transcript; committee decisions in this session were taken by voice vote unless otherwise noted.