Duane Hicks
Town council is considering reducing hours of operation at the Fort Frances Public Library Technology Centre in order to trim its operating budget
At its budget meeting yesterday, council began weighing whether to reduce library hours from 59 hours per week to 54 in order to save $26,320.
For the sake of comparison, council was provided with the hours of operation for regional libraries, including Dryden (open 54 hours a week), Kenora (54 hours), Sioux Lookout (52 hours), Red Lake (41 hours), Marathon (33 hours), and Keewatin (20 hours).
“Apparently, we are the only one open six days a week here,” said Coun. Doug Kitowski.
“Why is that? Is there something special about our library?
“We’re still at 59 hours and nobody else is,” he added. “Maybe we can’t afford to do this.”
Coun. Kitowski pointed out that in 2014, the town’s municipal contribution to the library here was $471,396 compared to Dryden, which paid $327,871 to operate its library.
That’s a difference of more than $140,000 and yet the populations of the two communities are very similar.
Coun. June Caul, who also sits on the library board, said the topic of reducing hours has not been broached yet by the library board, the board chair and library CEO have been made aware that council is mulling its options.
And while she also has wondered about the differences in how much regional municipalities pay each year to run libraries, she stressed she is proud of the local one.
“That library, to me, does more things for this community–and it’s getting bigger and bigger all of the time as far as the community events that they’re holding,” Coun. Caul remarked.
“I think it’s a fantastic hub or the community,” she added.
“I’m not sure whether cutting hours and taking a whole day out would be the right way to go.”
Three years ago, the library was open 70 hours a week and that was cut down to 59 to save money.
Coun. Paul Ryan noted that when it was open 70 hours, the library was running for “the convenience of everyone.”
Once the hours were reduced, patrons might have had to change their schedules a bit to get to the library and surely they can do it again.
Council deferred making any decision until its next budget meeting March 6.
Fort Frances CAO Doug Brown said this will give councillors time to get input from constituents and the library board, which may aid them in their decision-making.
In other news, council also is considering axing the Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste Day normally scheduled for September.
While this potentially would save the town $4,872, several councillors felt the annual event has been worthwhile, and expressed concerns that not having it could lead to hazardous materials being disposed in the local landfill.
On the other hand, last year’s waste day saw about a 10 percent decrease in the amount of materials turned in–so reducing it to a bi-annual event could be an option.
Council deferred making a decision until it can get more information as to what other municipalities in the region plan to do this year, such as whether they want to go bi-annual like Dryden has.
This is relevant because the town tenders in conjunction with other municipalities to get a hazardous waste management company to come here.
