Portland Public Library says downtown calls to police have surged; requests funding steady support

Sarah Moore, executive director of the Portland Public Library, presented the library's FY27 budget request to the finance committee on April 16 and asked the city to maintain and expand support for library operations.

Moore said the library is a 501(c)(3) component unit that relies on the city for 84 percent of its funding and that the FY27 proposal is intended to be net zero while absorbing a 4.3 percent staffing budget increase and a 16.7 percent rise in medical insurance costs. She said staffing represents 77 percent of the library's operating budget and that the library circulated over 500,000 physical items and saw increases in new borrowers and program attendance.

Moore highlighted public‑safety and operations pressures at the downtown branch, noting that calls to police there rose from 204 in 2024 to 501 in 2025 (year‑to‑date). She described the downtown library as one of the few daytime spaces available to people with few resources and said staff are seeking collaborative solutions with the city to preserve safe, welcoming service.

Councilor Pelletier asked about a decline in professional services spending; Moore said much of that change reflects one‑time IT consulting costs in prior years and that legal and auditing fees are included under professional services and may increase temporarily during union negotiations.

Moore asked staff to post the library's budget documents and strategic plan to the committee backup; the committee agreed to add a more detailed breakdown to the meeting materials.