Palliser Regional Library (PRL) plans to increase its rural levies in 2023 to cover the new three-year agreement with its union, while it also expects to have a balanced budget.
The rural base levy for towns or villages without a library will increase by 20 cents to $14.80 per person next year; will increase by 30 cents to $22.20 per person for towns under 2,000 people with a library; and will increase by 40 cents to $29.60 per person for Assiniboia.
“Right now, our bylaws stipulate that we have a one, one-and-half and two ratio … ,” director Jan Smith explained during the organization’s fall meeting on Nov. 4. “It’s a 49-year-old policy.”
The 20-cent increase is because Palliser settled a three-year agreement with CUPE Local 9 for Jan. 1, 2022, to Dec. 31, 2024, she said. The agreement provides wage increases of 1.75 per cent, two per cent and three per cent.
The union covers 53 employees within PRL’s rural branches, six managers, and all non-managerial staff at Moose Jaw Public Library and PRL headquarters.
PRL doesn’t set the levy for Moose Jaw Public Library (MJPL) because the latter sets its own rate, she added. Moose Jaw has not set that number yet because city council hasn’t approved the 2023 budget. Until that happens, Palliser uses Moose Jaw’s 2022 rates for budgetary purposes.
2023 budget
“We are going to be hitting the wall in 2023 (with our budget) … ,” Smith said. “There is no money left anywhere.”
The organization has a tough choice to make next year: keep two professional librarians at PRL HQ and lose a social media person or drop to one librarian and create a hybrid position, she continued. While every region in Saskatchewan has at least two librarians, PRL has a social media position.
Arwen Rudolph, the incoming director of PRL, will make this decision since Smith is retiring on Dec. 31, the latter said. PRL will be on budget despite facing personnel changes at headquarters; an extra $70,000 is required to maintain current staffing.
“And yes, I am nervous,” Smith said. “What can you (communities) do to help? I’m asking the towns and villages to write letters to the government (to advocate for more money).”
The budget document — which assumes the one librarian/rural branch social media hybrid position proposal — shows Palliser Regional Library’s revenues for 2023 are projected to be $2,536,568 and expenses are projected to be $2,549,466, leaving a deficit of $12,898. No explanation was given about covering that shortfall, but Smith reiterated that the budget would balance to $0.
Smith then singled out several areas of concern next year.
The inter-library loan contract has had the same budget as in 2014 and faces a shortfall of $7,641. Smith noted PRL has asked the province for an increase of $15,000 to keep pace with inflation.
Resource sharing with MJPL is down by roughly $800 because the branch had irregular open hours from January to March because of the pandemic, the director explained. The province dinged PRL by $3,600 last year, so it passed along some of that cost.
The Assiniboia branch plans to take $1,537 from its $20,000-valued reserves to re-instate an employee — who would work six hours per week — who quit during the pandemic because of medical issues.
The budget document also showed projected branch hours of operations for 2023.
Smith noted that this is the first year PRL is charging hours based on the 2021 census. Therefore, some branches will gain hours — between 0.5 hours and two hours — and some will lose hours — from 0.5 hours to 2.25 hours — because of population changes.
“It’s a pretty basic budget. It’s pretty much the same thing I’ve handed you for 20 years,” she added, “because we really don’t have much flexibility in it and we try to be as transparent as possible.”
