Appropriations panel agrees to $20,000 interim allocation for library amid debate over long-term funding

The Cache County Appropriations Committee on Monday approved a $20,000 interim addition to the county library budget while members press the library board for options to make the existing appropriation stretch to year-end.

George Hain, the county executive, and Sandy Goodlander, a council member, led a sustained debate over whether the library should rely on volunteers or accept a higher county subsidy. Sandy Goodlander told the panel, “I’m not gonna appropriate another $134,000,” signaling the committee’s reluctance to fully fund the larger requests staff presented.

Why it matters: the library director presented multiple budget scenarios to cover the remainder of the year. The committee must balance maintaining public services against a projected county budget deficit and limited appetite for open-ended county funding.

What the committee heard

- The library presented several options in the packet that ranged from using volunteers to maintaining paid part-time staff; members raised privacy and service-quality concerns about volunteer-heavy staffing.

- Staff calculated the practical gaps: the director had spent about $27,000 year-to-date and the options suggested that an additional roughly $99,000–$119,000 could be needed depending on staffing choices. Committee members proposed covering a small portion immediately and seeking reimbursement from the county RAPS allocation if that funding is approved later.

- The committee voted to add $20,000 now with the understanding it could be reimbursed by RAPS (the unincorporated county distribution) should those funds be allocated later. Members asked the library to present firmer plans and cut options to operate within more limited funding.

Quotes and next steps

“We could say, run your budget according to budget number 1,” said George Hain, outlining a shorter-term plan while the committee pursues RAPS reimbursement. The committee also asked staff to send the library a written notice describing the funding decision and its conditional nature.

The panel flagged the janitor-supervisor personnel request and a separate airport tuition item for additional review before sending the budget packet to the full council.