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Library presents 2021 budget to Town of Barrhead council

Library director Elaine Dickie said the amount they are requesting from the Barrhead municipalities will remain the same
Elaine Dickie Nov. 17 use for TC Library story
The Barrhead Public Library board presented their proposed 2021 operating budget to Town of Barrhead councillors on Nov. 10. Pictured here is library director Elaine Dickie. Barry Kerton/BL

BARRHEAD-When Barrhead Public Library director Elaine Dickie presented the 2020 library budget before the Barrhead municipalities at December's joint council meeting, she warned them that for 2021 she would be asking them for more money.

It turns out she was mistaken, because when Dickie and library board chair Ruth Bohn presented the proposed budget for 2021 to Town of Barrhead councillors on Nov. 10, they asked for the same amount per capita as they did the previous year.

"Primarily, the reason is that the things we have had to change in 2020 because of COVID have impacted are [proposed budget]," she said.

Later in the meeting councillors passed the presentation for information. The final decision on whether to accept the library budget will be included as part of the council's larger 2021 budget deliberation process.

The library is asking both municipalities to contribute $18.44 per capita for library services as well as separate a $5,500 contribution from both municipalities for utilities and janitorial services.

The other major area of revenue for the library comes from a provincial grant of $58,430 ($5.55 per capita based on an area population of 10,624 residents). The library also has an agreement with Barrhead Elementary School (BES) to provide services based on student enrolment. In 2021, this amount is estimated at $32,600 for instruction and books. This is down from $44,964 from the year before and the approximate $57,000 they received from 2017-2019.

The decrease is a bit of sore point with Dickie, especially when the Pembina Hills School Division (PHSD) in late April asked the library to refund the approximately $12,600 for services it believed were not rendered because the school was forced to close its doors to students in March to the end of the year.

"Even though we were still open to them [BES] and teachers were still using it," she said.

However, before Dickie delved into the 2021 budget, she recapped the impact the coronavirus has had on the library.

She said that when the library was forced to close its doors to the public in the spring as part of the provincially mandated shutdown, they were forced to lay off six staff members.

"For three of them, we entered into an agreement where we augmented their [Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)] payments," Dickie said.

Under the program, recipients were allowed up to $1,000 a month without it impacting their CERB payments.

The three employees have since been recalled. Sadly, she said, they were not able to recall the three other employees, as they were casual workers, and were no longer needed when the library reopened its doors under a reduced schedule.

Nor does she believe the library will revert to its previous schedule in the foreseeable future.

"People are being very cautious and we are not seeing the walk-in traffic that we used to," Dickie said. "The demand for our on-line services are going through the roof, but unfortunately we don't need the same amount of staff."

Which is the main reason why the library will not need a budget increase, despite giving a one per cent Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to all regular employees.

Originally, the library believed as late as the end of October, they would have to dip into reserves to fund the increase, but now they believe they will be able to absorb the increase as part of its regular budget, she said.

Dickie also noted the pandemic has basically negated any fundraising, with a few exceptions, that the library or other organizations such as the Friends of the Barrhead Library might have done on their behalf.

One benefit of having to shut their doors temporarily, she said, is that the library had time to add to its book collection.

"When people do come into the library, that is one of the first things they notice," she said, adding that because of the physical changes they had to make due to COVID, the new materials are very noticeable.

And while in-person visits are down substantially, they have curtailed their in-house programming to a minimum, Dickie said the one area of the library that has seen a lot of traffic is the computer lab.

"We do have a large segment of the population that don't have access to either computers or high-speed Internet," she said, adding they also did a lot of renovations to allow the public to bring in their own devices.

Dickie added they are pleased to be once again open to the public and hope they start seeing more visitors but said people who do come into the library are required to wear masks.

"A large portion of our users are seniors and we want to do everything we can to make sure they are safe," she said.

Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com


Barry Kerton

About the Author: Barry Kerton

Barry Kerton is the managing editor of the Barrhead Leader, joining the paper in 2014. He covers news, municipal politics and sports.
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