Benton County commissioners press Great River Regional Library for branch‑level data as board explores cuts to Foley hours

Benton County commissioners spent an extended portion of their March 17 meeting pressing for transparent, branch‑level budgeting from the Great River Regional Library after trustees voted to reduce Foley Library hours if counties had not restored funding by April 1.

County staff relayed that GRL’s trustees had approved a motion to reduce Foley’s hours by three to five per week unless the county restored a roughly $6,624 county contribution. Commissioners and residents disputed the process and said the county board had asked GRL staff for a detailed breakdown by branch and by program before trustees voted.

Commissioner Bonoy and others said the board asked for per‑branch budgets and how GRL apportions costs across the system; they and multiple residents said the system’s presented numbers made it hard to evaluate whether county contributions were being directed to nearby branches such as St. Cloud or Royalton. Shelley, the Foley branch representative, told commissioners the branch logged roughly 16,432 patrons last year and a $371,441 collection value; she said the proposed hour reductions would reduce staffing and pay and urged the county to restore funds to prevent cuts.

County officials noted limited ability to change GRL’s governing decisions but requested the detailed financial breakdown from GRL. The county board voted to table any formal county action and to seek more specific budget and usage data; commissioners discussed attending a GRL meeting to ask the same questions but were reminded of open‑meeting rules limiting the number of commissioners who can attend without posting a meeting.

Next steps: county staff will ask GRL for the requested branch‑level financials and per‑branch usage statistics; the board will revisit the matter when that information is available.