Oregon City to advance plan to eliminate overdue library fines and waive old balances

The Oregon City Commission on June 9 signaled broad support for a library board recommendation to eliminate overdue fines for library materials and to waive approximately $24,000 in outstanding overdue balances, with a formal vote scheduled for the commission’s June 17 meeting.

Library board chair Cynthia Andrews told the commission the proposal would apply only to overdue fines — not charges for lost, damaged or stolen items — and noted the board recommends an implementation date later this summer. "The library board is coming to you tonight with a recommendation that we eliminate library fines for overdue materials," Andrews said.

City and library staff described the financial impact as minimal. Library director Greg Williams said overdue-fine revenue has declined over time and that the system currently budgets fine revenue outside the library operating fund. "Overdue fine revenue year by year has just been going down," Williams said, and he estimated the annual loss at roughly $6,500; the one-time receivable write-off the board proposes is about $24,000, much of which staff said is unlikely to be collected.

Staff and board members framed the change as an access and equity measure. Presenters said about 21% of cardholders have overdue fines and that a large share of outstanding fines involve youth materials: "62% of the fines collected in 2024–25 were either a youth library card or associated with youth materials," the board said, adding that rural patrons and single parents can face barriers returning items on time.

To limit future unpaid balances, library staff described steps already taken and planned to reduce fines from arising in the first place: pre-due notices, text-message alerts, expanded use of email notifications and a planned link-wide automatic-renewal feature later this year that would automatically renew items when no one else has them on hold. Staff also clarified that an overdue item becomes a 'lost' account billing at 30 days past due under current practice.

Commissioners asked operational and timing questions; staff said vendor scheduling — specifically for the library system vendor — may prevent an August 1 effective date and could push implementation into the fall. Several commissioners said they preferred a formal vote to make the change public and administratively final. The commission directed staff to prepare materials for a vote at the June 17 meeting and to proceed with implementation steps if practical.

If approved, the policy would stop assessing per-day overdue fines while preserving fees for lost or damaged items and will include a one-time waiver of existing small overdue balances staff deems uncollectible. The commission’s next formal action on the item is the June 17 meeting.

The library board and staff said they will return to the commission with the formal agenda item and implementation timeline.