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Menlo Park staff outline FY2026–27 budget timeline, hiring and makerspace plans
Summary
City staff told the Library Commission the FY2026–27 budget schedule will follow council priority‑setting in March and a cost‑of‑services study in late March/April; staff also reported rising e‑audio use, described makerspace programming and said a new Library & Community Services director is expected to be chosen in March.
City staff told the Menlo Park Library Commission on Feb. 23 that the FY 2026–27 budget schedule will proceed after the City Council's March priority‑setting session and that a cost‑of‑services study due in late March or early April will inform departmental requests.
"This kind of sets up the budget schedule... the portal opens in May, the budget workshop is late May, early June, and then the budget is adopted in June," said Assistant Library and Community Services Director Nick Schechdade, describing how council priorities are folded into the city's budget timeline and how departments will present budget requests to the city manager and finance staff.
Staff described the library's budget outlook for the cycle as largely flat; the department is not planning major new asks but will pull out library‑specific numbers for commissioners to review in March or April. Scheschdade also noted panel interviews are underway for a new Library & Community Services director, and staff expected a hiring decision in March; in the meantime, Ronnie Singh is serving as internal services manager and assisting with budget work.
Commissioners pressed staff about facilities funding pathways — whether large investments such as HVAC replacement would be submitted through the capital improvement project (CIP) process or handled as departmental midyear requests. Staff said large facility upgrades typically belong in the CIP while smaller interior work may be requested through departmental budgets or midyear appropriations, and that public works would be the division that leads major facility projects.
On library services, staff reported rising e‑audiobook checkouts and explained Menlo Park both buys countywide digital content shared through the Peninsula Library System and purchases local demand‑driven content; commissioners suggested highlighting these trends in budget materials to justify resource allocations. The makerspace, staff said, shows low booked utilization (about 20% in the internal reservation system) but significant open‑use activity (after‑school programs, senior classes) that is not always captured in the bookings metric. Staff outlined programming and equipment available and said supervised classes remain necessary for some tools (3D printers) because of safety and materials costs.
The commission also received an update from the Friends group liaison that the Friends have a healthy cash position but face volunteer turnover risk in key roles; staff and commissioners discussed coordinating outreach to recruit volunteers and to better define Bellhaven needs for targeted fundraising.
