The Gibsons and District Public Library is poised to receive a seven per cent increase in this year’s funding from the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD).
At round two 2023 SCRD budget discussions held March 2, an annual operating grant of $758,519 for the library was recommended at the committee level. That followed a presentation from the library’s director Heather Evans-Cullen and library board member Rob Flux, which detailed funding scenarios with both six and seven per cent grant increases over 2022 levels. They stressed that the higher increase was the only “tenable” alternative, in their view.
The six per cent option was included to respond to the committee ask made during round one budget discussions on Jan. 23. At that point, the elected officials rejected the library’s initial budget submission, which sought a grant of more than $867,000. In 2022, the SCRD grant to the library was $686,666.
“We went back to our budget and reduced it as much as is possible without dramatically reducing service,” Evans-Cullen stated. She noted that even with a seven per cent bump, planned purchases of materials and technology enhancements needed to be cut to be able to maintain facility operating hours at current levels.
The 2023 grant will require an approximate 10 per cent increase in property taxation collected for the library service in SCRD areas D, E, F and the Town of Gibsons. Evans-Cullen estimated the funding change impact at “less than a single bus fare or the price of a locally roasted cup of coffee” per person, in her meeting submission materials.
Evans-Cullen noted that although one-time increases in provincial funding for libraries were approved in 2022, ongoing operating support from that level of government has not changed significantly in 10 years.
In response, Gibsons area director Silas White commented that local government needs to lobby the province to ensure their operating funding grants help pay for the increasing levels of community service demands that libraries are facing. Those include being a place of refuge for individuals during extreme weather events and offering washrooms and Wi-Fi access for patrons, including those experiencing homelessness.
Recommendations on grant levels are finalized by the SCRD board, through adoption of the 2023 budget, which is forecast to take place on March 23.
