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Lawton mayor urges more transparency as his city's county library share jumps about $6,000
Summary
Jesse Patterson, mayor of Lawton, told supervisors his city's share of Woodbury County Library costs rose to $27,488 and pressed staff for clarity on state revenue, satellite-location rents and whether consolidation or partnerships could lower costs; county staff replied that the library has its own board and manages its own fund.
Jesse Patterson, mayor of Lawton, used the citizen‑concerns period to press the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors for more transparency about how the county’s contribution to the Woodbury County Library is calculated and spent.
Patterson said Lawton's portion for the coming fiscal year is $27,488 — an increase of about $6,000 from the prior year — and noted the library’s overall budget listed in materials as $350,000. "We're stakeholders in the library, but we have no say in what's going on and we don't know what's going on," Patterson said, asking how state revenue (including per‑county grade refunds) and satellite‑location rent are accounted for and whether revenues are netted against the county contribution.
A board participant (Speaker 5) replied that the county contributes to the library alongside cities and townships but that the library operates its own board and fund; revenue from library sales or services goes to the library’s fund. The participant suggested Patterson attend a library board meeting to raise specific line‑item questions.
Patterson raised operational questions such as whether satellite locations receive rent or "kickbacks" (he cited Mobile’s $19,000 rent), whether consolidation of satellite services might be possible, and whether partnerships with the Sioux City Public Library could be explored; he emphasized he was not calling to close the library but was seeking solutions to rising costs. The board received Patterson’s comments 5-0; no staff budget action or amendment was taken at the meeting.
