Questions about who should be in control of the library’s surpluses were raised during Monday’s council committee meeting.
The issue was discussed as council members were addressing a request from the Orillia Public Library to put part of its 2021 operating budget surplus toward paying the remainder owing for consulting fees.
In addition to that, the library board asked council committee to “consider the intent of the (Public Libraries Act) by allowing the library board to control their own surplus commencing in the 2021 financial year.”
“It is the library CEO’s opinion that public libraries should be self-sufficient with regards to their finances,” the board wrote in a report to council committee.
The city is the primary funder of the library, but “public libraries should make every effort to relieve the pressure on their municipalities with responsible financial management, grant writing, and fundraising,” the board wrote.
“Consequently, if they have a surplus it should go to library reserves to offset unexpected expenditures and should there be a deficit this should be realized through library reserves. This guarantees the municipality no surprises when it comes to the library board and their financial management. It also ensures that there is no needless spending with the ‘use it or lose it’ mentality.”
Coun. Pat Hehn asked what happened with library surpluses in previous years.
Library CEO Bessie Sullivan noted the surplus in 2020 went back to the city, but with other libraries in the province, they usually get to keep it.
“In a perfect world, I would say that the library should have the surplus,” Sullivan said.
Hehn agreed.
“She wants to spend this money responsibly,” she said of Sullivan.
John Henry, the city’s treasurer and chief financial officer, said the current city practice is to put about 75 per cent of the library’s surplus toward infrastructure renewal, with the remainder going to the tax rate stabilization reserve.
Coun. Jay Fallis suggested the city strike a “compromise” and split surpluses with the library.
The city has a policy that states the surpluses of all of its boards, agencies and departments go to the municipality, said Amanpreet Singh Sidhu, city solicitor and general manager of corporate services.
He agreed there can be different interpretations of sections of the Public Libraries Act but pointed out there are no clauses in the act about reserves.
Indeed, according to the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, “the Public Libraries Act is silent on the subject of reserve funds.
“While it is common practice for municipalities to hold library reserve funds, library boards do have authority to have reserve funds under the Municipal Act.”
If council wanted to amend a policy about surplus or reserve allocations, “that is a separate question,” Sidhu said.
He noted a comprehensive reserves policy is in the works at the city and that staff have had conversations with Sullivan.
The pressing issue at the moment, he said, was paying the consultant — something both city staff and the library agree should be done as soon as possible.
Council committee passed a motion that allows for that to happen at a cost of $20,905.
