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Council asks library for residency breakdown as members raise possible nonresident fee options
Summary
Council members asked Director Kristin Phillips to produce counts separating new cards and renewals and to identify cardholders by city limits, ETJ and non-ETJ; members discussed whether modest fees or utility-based waivers could fund expanded library amenities.
During the work session council members asked the library to produce a residency breakdown of cardholders and to separately track new library-card sign-ups and renewals.
A council member urged staff to differentiate cardholders by city-limit residents, ETJ (extraterritorial jurisdiction) residents and non-ETJ users so policymakers can understand the scope before discussing fees. "Can we differentiate between City Limits, ETJ, and non ETJ?" the member asked. Phillips said her statistics team could investigate account toggles and other options to approximate residency and agreed to pull that data going forward.
Council members discussed practical options for cost-sharing if the city builds an expanded library: waiving membership for those who show a utility bill or charging a modest annual fee for nonresidents. Several members cautioned that collection and administration costs could outweigh modest fee revenue and recommended incremental tracking before any policy change.
