Davis County library fund healthy but faces pressure from staff costs and Bountiful branch construction

At a Davis County Budget Committee meeting, Josh Johnson (Library) told committee members the library’s fund balance is "pretty healthy" but projects a dip that is "largely due to projections for staff increases," which he said are the largest factor that could prompt a future tax increase depending on the committee's decisions. "Those staff allocations are, honestly the largest reasons why we might get a tax increase at some point depending on what we decide we wanna do," Johnson said.

Johnson presented comparative charts showing Davis County’s per-capita library expenditures are lower than most neighboring counties and said Davis County typically operates at a tighter per-capita spending level. He identified one new budget request tied to construction costs for the Bountiful branch and said most other spending needs are expected to be covered by the regular operating budget.

On collections spending, Johnson told the committee that Davis County’s per-capita spending on books and databases is "somewhere around 2 and a half" compared with "somewhere around 4 and a half" in Weber County. He said the library increased its books-and-materials budget last year, is looking for grant funding to diversify revenue, and is monitoring federal grant prospects such as programs run by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which he said are uncertain this budget cycle.

Committee members asked about donations and sponsorship opportunities. Johnson said donations are typically small (individual boxes or a few titles) and do not materially offset collection costs; he also said the library is cautious about corporate sponsorship in library spaces, saying, "we want to make sure that we continue to be neutral." He described marketing and sponsorship as ideas the library will explore while protecting neutral public space.

Members also raised service-model questions, including whether to reintroduce a bookmobile. Johnson said Davis County used to operate a bookmobile but moved toward a network of small local libraries; the current arrangement generally serves residents, though he acknowledged gaps in remote corners of the county.

A committee member asked whether a library on a military base (recorded in the transcript as "Hiller Forest Space") could be folded into the county system. Johnson said base access logistics and any base mandates could complicate such an arrangement but that he is open to conversations if the base would provide funding or a revenue arrangement for county operation.

The committee did not take any formal votes during the presentation. An unnamed committee member said the current budgets "look" in a good position and added, "I don't think that we're, like, in a a need for tax increase this year for the libraries to keep them." Johnson said he will send follow-up materials and the list of items the library is seeking to committee members and city contacts.

Next steps: Johnson will circulate additional budget details and visuals to committee members and city officials; the committee did not adopt any new appropriations during the meeting.