The announcement of state aid funding cuts sent a devastating chill to more than 200 public libraries in Arkansas' 75 counties last week.
"It was not something we were expecting," said Glenda Audrain, director of the Washington County Library system.
The proposed state budget cuts to the Washington County Library System (which includes the libraries in Farmington, Prairie Grove and Lincoln) will be an overall reduction of $6,572.44 in state aid per library facility.
The cut amounts to $52,440 from the state aid of $228,000 received in 2014.
The word "proposed" is really a misnomer -- the cuts are in place with the passage of the Revenue Stabilization Act of 2015, a document and process to balance the state's budget, as required by law.
The slashing of the state Library budget over more than $1.5 million came about at the behest of Gov. Asa Hutchinson to balance the 1 percent tax cut rates to the middle class. Hutchinson feverishly campaigned for this tax cut in 2014.
And the state aid funding shortfall also stems from more cuts from the Legislature. The 90th General Assembly restored capital gains tax cuts, temporarily put on hold by the Hutchinson administration from the previous session, and the enactment of a truly millionaire tax cut for those conducting a one-time event of over $10-million as exempt from state taxes.
So the public libraries of the state are helping pay for a tax cut for the rich. As young people are want to say: "It is what it is."
These cuts in state aid funding to rural libraries are for real. Library directors all across the state were notified of the cuts by the state Library staff this past week. The cuts will occur starting July 1, the beginning of the state's new budget year. These cuts will continue until the second half of 2017, unless reversed by the Legislature in the fiscal session next year.
Using the last full year of state funding, 2014, Audrain calculated the dollar loss for each of the six municipal libraries and two other libraries which receive a half-share of state aid in Washington County. Because the county system balances the state aid by both population and need, each will lose a like amount, despite the size of their city.
The Farmington Public Library, for example, will lose $6,572.34 in state aid funding, down from $28,358 received in 2014. Farmington will only receive $21,785.66. That is the least state aid funding it has ever received after becoming a full-time library and eligible for state aid.
The Prairie Grove Public Library and the Lincoln City Library will also lose $6,572.34 from their expected state aid budget of $28,358, receiving only $21,785.66 each.
This will be the least state aid funding received in the previous decade.
Libraries in Elkins, West Fork and Springdale will each see the same loss of $6,572.34 in their state aid budgets.
Libraries in the Washington County system getting only a one-half share of support from the state aide, facilities in both Greenland and Winslow, will see a reduction of $3,261.17 from their full funding of $14,179 from previous years.
Greenland and Winslow are not open 40 hours per week. The other facilities in the Washington County system are open more hours, have more professional staff and offer more services.
The Fayetteville Public Library is not a member of the Washington County Library System and will see the same projected 23 percent reduction in its state aid.
State aid to libraries all across the state had been pretty flat for the last five or six years, but never in the 2014 campaign were there signs by Hutchinson of a significant cut to be made to state aid to public libraries.
These cuts total about $1.2 million of State Library Budget.
Tax relief for the rich had to come from somewhere. But who suspected Asa would do so on the backs of the public libraries of this state?
MAYLON RICE, AN AWARD-WINNING COLUMNIST, HAS WRITTEN BOTH NEWS AND COLUMNS FOR SEVERAL NWA PUBLICATIONS AND HAS BEEN WRITING FOR THE ENTERPRISE-LEADER FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
Editorial on 04/08/2015