Orange County Budget Cuts May Hit Chapel Hill Public Library Hard

UPDATE: At the June 4 budget meeting, the County Commission considered two amendments covering the cuts to Chapel Hill Public Library funding. B01A would have restored the cuts and increased property taxes to pay for them. It failed 2-5. B01B phases out Orange County’s contribution over the next three fiscal years rather than cutting the entire amount in FY 2027. Instead of $621,323, the county will fund $414,216 of the library’s operating budget in FY 2027. That motion passed unanimously.

*This is an ongoing story and will be updated as events relating to it occur.

CHAPEL HILL – Orange County’s proposed funding cuts to the Chapel Hill Public Library (CHPL) could lead to increased fees, shorter weekend hours and a library-card fee for county residents from outside Chapel Hill.

Town residents and the Friends of the Chapel Hill Public Library have criticized the proposed $621,323 budget cut. The county says, however, that money is tight and that the new county library branch in Carrboro means there’s less need to support CHPL. The proposed Orange County budget includes the cut. Orange County Budget Director Kirk Vaughn says the Board of County Commissioners can still amend the budget.

“The board considers amendments to the Manager’s recommended budget on June 4,” Vaughn told The Local Reporter. “There is an amendment proposed to restore the cut, and would be implemented with a simple majority of the board.”

The budget and the controversy

The library says its budget for the current fiscal year is $4,297,174. Most of that — $3,432,533 — is for personnel costs. The remaining $864,641 constitutes the operating budget, which covers new books and DVDs, library programs, and supplies. Orange County’s funding provides 72 percent of the operating budget. The budget proposal would cut that amount by half in fiscal year 2027, then wipe out the rest the following year.

“Orange County is managing rising operating costs, inflationary pressures, increasing service demands, and major capital needs,” the Orange County website says, so it’s reviewing which of its services it can sustain in the long term.

Orange County’s proposed budget increases the general fund by 6.2 percent, or $19.1 million, over the current fiscal year. It raises property taxes by 3.75 cents per $100 of assessed value, which would generate $12.65 million in additional revenue beyond growth from new construction. The money will pay off bonds issued for county and school capital projects, cover increased operating costs for the school districts, fund a “modest” increase in employee compensation, and cover added spending due to rising gas costs and inflation.

Orange County’s FY 2026 budget includes a total $3,692,286 to staff and operate the Hillsborough and Carrboro library branches. The county says cutting CHPL funding is part of a broad review of long-term sustainability of the county’s services. The Indy says Orange County contributed to CHPL “when the county and the town were seeking interoperability.” With Carrboro having its own library, the county sees less need to help fund CHPL.

“County funding for municipal libraries is a common practice, rooted in two reasons,” the library website says. One reason is that CHPL provides services to 40 % of Orange County residents who live in Chapel Hill, taking some of the pressure off the county. Another is that the funding allows Chapel Hill to offer free library cards to the 14,813 Orange County residents living outside the town. Without county funding, those residents may face a $65 out-of-town fee.

“The Chapel Hill Public Library offers far more extensive programming, a larger collection, and a more accessible location than the Southern Branch to Chapel Hill residents,” Chapel Hill’s Alec Higgins told the county. “CHPL shares those perks with residents outside our town.”

The library website says that although the Southern Branch Library opened a year ago, demand for CHPL’s services hasn’t decreased. CHPL has seen roughly the same number of library visits, an increase in attendance at library programs and a decrease of less than 70,000 in materials checked out.

A link on the Friends of the Library website says the cuts are unfair: Chapel Hill is the largest municipality in Orange yet the library gets less money from the county than Carrboro or Hillsborough. Orange County also provides free library cards to residents of Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Durham, and Person counties.

What lies ahead

The library says if the cuts go through, people from outside the town can still use the study spaces and WiFi, attend programs and browse the library stacks. As CHPL will have to rely more on municipal tax dollars, checking out materials will require the out-of-town fee. Even so, the odds are high that the library would face a funding gap. Possible ways to recover from the shortfall include Chapel Hill raising property taxes, increasing printing fees, charging for meeting room use, cutting the budget, laying off part-time staff and reducing weekend hours.

The budget cut isn’t set in stone yet. It’s in the county’s proposed budget but Commissioners Jamezetta Bedford and Amy Fowler have proposed a budget amendment to restore the funding. Under the amendment, property taxes would increase by 0.1 cent per $100, raising an additional $337,439 in FY 2027. That would cover Orange County’s contribution to CHPL’s operating budget and leave an additional $44,458 in the general fund. You can see the CHPL funding amendment and all other proposed amendments online at the county website.

The Board of County Commissioners’ next public hearing is scheduled for May 28 in Chapel Hill. On June 4, the board will consider which budget amendments, if any, to approve. The final vote to adopt next year’s budget* is set for June 16.

* The Local Reporter will post all of your comments regarding this issue. Please send them to editor@thelocalreporter.press

Fraser Sherman has worked for newspapers, including the Destin Log, the Pensacola News-Journal and the Raleigh Public Record. Born in England, he’d still live in Florida if he hadn’t met the perfect woman and moved to Durham to marry her. He’s the author of several film reference books and has published one novel and several short story collections. This reporter can be reached at: Information@TheLocalReporter.press