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The Library Team of the Strategic Fiscal Planning Committee’s Special Budget Sub-Committee has requested that the Mead Public Library (MPL) administrative staff submit a scenario based on a funding reduction of $200,000 targeted at recurring expenditures for 2011.

The scenario is the MPL administrative staff’s technical response to the reduction in service capacity.  As such it does not represent the Library Board’s policy position on the matter.  

The Mead Public Library Board, at its Oct. 22, 2009 meeting, approved a 2010 budget proposal to be forwarded to the City of Sheboygan’s Finance Department. The budget proposal from the board included funding at “maintenance of effort,” a level that would allow Mead to continue to be a member of the Eastern Shores Library System and receive its state-funded services.  The Common Council reviewed the budget and in November 2009 approved funding for the library at an amount $228,000 below the Library Board recommendation.

By taking this action, the Common Council did not attain the minimum level of funding required for the City's continued participation in Eastern Shores Library System (ESLS).  The minimum level of funding must be equal to or greater than the average of funding from the City for the three most recent years and is called "maintenance of effort" funding, also known as MoE funding.

At a meeting in February 2010, the Common Council adopted an amendment to Mead's 2010 budget that added $228,000 to its funding for Mead.  Thus, at the end of February the Library Board was able to report to the Wisconsin Division for Libraries Technology and Community Learning (DLTCL) that the City of Sheboygan funding is in compliance with the required MoE funding for 2010.

The Mead budget for 2010 includes five furlough days when staff members must take time off without pay, resulting in a 1.9 percent pay cut annually.  In addition, all salaries and wages are frozen at the 2009 rate throughout 2010.  The budget also decreases the amount of money spent on purchasing books and other materials for the library’s collections.

Read more information about the Maintenance of Effort requirement and how it affects Mead Library funding. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction also offers  information about the Maintenance of Effort provision. 

Library Director's Budget Analysis

Tax Support per Capita Comparison (PDF file)

Wisconsin public libraries contribute to the economy of Wisconsin. Read more about an economic impact research report.

The Wisconsin Counties Association magazine published an article in July 2009, "Libraries Critical in Times of Crisis." (PDF file)

"Libraries: At the Heart of Our Communities" was published in the Summer 2009 issue of the Planning Commissioners Journal.  It discusses the importance of public library services and buildings to the economic, commercial, and cultural vitality of large, medium, and small communities across the US.

When jobs go away, Americans turn to their libraries to find information about future employment or educational opportunities. This library usage trend and others are detailed in the 2010 State of America’s Libraries report, released in April by the American Library Association. The report shows that Americans have turned to their libraries in larger numbers in recent years, a trend that was the topic for ALA executive director Keith Fiels, who addressed the Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries conference in Sheboygan on April 29.