FAQ About the County Library Funding Statutes

— Based on 1997 Act 150 (SB 269)

One issue of considerable concern to the Legislative Council Special Committee on Public Libraries was the lack of adequate funding in many Wisconsin counties for library service provided to residents of the county that do not maintain a public library. In response to this problem, the committee authored changes in Wisconsin library law that, for the first time, establish a minimum standard for county library funding.

Beginning in 2001, counties are required to pay each public library in the county at least 70 percent of the cost of library services provided to residents of the county who do not maintain a public library. The only exceptions to this requirement are consolidated county libraries and counties with a population over 500,000. Cost calculations for this requirement are to be based on total library operating expenditures not including capital expenditures and expenditures of federal funds. This new provision makes it essential that all Wisconsin libraries collect adequate nonresident usage statistics as soon as possible, and beginning no later than January of 1999. The newly required minimum county payments will be made in the year 2001 but will be based on calendar year 1999 circulation statistics. Each library must be able to document 1999 nonresident usage to the county so that county budgets passed in the fall of 2000 will be adequate to fund these payments in 2001.

The DLCL is recommending that library systems work with their member libraries soon on procedures for the collection of adequate non-resident usage statistics.

An unofficial copy of the new Wisconsin Statutes s. 43.12 county library funding law is available.

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Frequently asked questions about the county library funding law

(these answers are informal interpretations of the new statutory provisions–libraries may wish to seek an attorney’s opinion when applying the law to particular circumstances)

What information must be submitted to our county so that our library receives the required reimbursement?

To receive reimbursement in the year 2001, for example–the first year for which the statutes require a specific funding level–a library must provide the following information to your county clerk by July 1, 2000:

1. the number of loans of material by the library during the prior calendar year (1999) to residents of your county who are not residents of a library municipality
2. the total number of all loans of material during the prior calendar year (1999)
3. total library operating expenditures (not including capital expenditures or expenditures of federal funds) for the prior calendar year (1999)

Corresponding data must be provided to the county clerk each subsequent year by July 1 to continue to qualify for this funding.

What kinds of data collection methods are required to guarantee county reimbursement at the statutory level?

The DLCL is recommending that library systems work with their member libraries soon on procedures for the collection of adequate nonresident usage statistics. Local library policies and procedures should be established for collecting the library usage statistics needed to receive county reimbursement. Attention should be given to

• procedures for accurately determining the place of residence of each user, most particularly to identify county residents who are not residents of a municipality that maintains a public library
• procedures for counting annual library usage, including annual usage by county residents who are not residents of a municipality that maintains a public library
• the definition of circulation of library material

It is essential that data be collected in a manner which can withstand scrutiny by the county. If your library has rigorous procedures for confirming the place of residence of each user, and if your library keeps an actual count of annual usage broken down by place of residence (as opposed to sampling), your county will probably have no problems accepting your data. If, however, your library uses sampling to determine annual county nonresident usage, we recommend that your data collection methodology be validated by a reliable source. If you will be updating your county library plan, it is recommended that the plan address the issue of library usage data collection. For more information on the issues involved in library usage data collection, see Appendix A of the DPI publication Planning for Countywide Library Service.

By statute, a county clerk may now have access, upon request, to all books and records used to determine both the annual library material loans to county residents who do not maintain a public library and the total annual library material loans. The identity of individuals using the library, however, is protected under Wisconsin Statutes s. 43.30.

Our county currently funds our library at 100% of the statutory formula; do the statutes now mandate that they fund at 70%?

No. The statutes require funding of at least 70% of operating costs. Counties are free to fund at a higher level. Counties are also free to include capital costs in their funding formulas. In addition, counties must meet maintenance of effort requirements to retain system membership.

Our county uses only municipal operating expenditures, not full operating expenditures (minus federal expenditures) in the formula used to determine unit cost for reimbursement. Is this acceptable?

Perhaps. Your county must fund and be able to demonstrate it is funding each library at a level of at least 70% of cost using the statutory definition of full operating expenditures (minus federal expenditures). As long as this minimum level is met, the county can distribute funds according to any formula specified in the county library plan.

Our county library funding formula uses nonresident usage statistics for the twelve month period ending June 30, rather than for the prior calendar year. Is this acceptable?

Perhaps. Your county must fund and be able to demonstrate it is funding each library at a level of at least the statutory formula amount which is based on the prior calendar year’s nonresident usage statistics. As long as this minimum level is met, the county can distribute funds according to any formula specified in the county library plan.

Our county uses the current year’s library appropriations, not the prior year’s operating expenditures in the formula used to determine unit cost for reimbursement. Is this acceptable?

Perhaps. Your county must fund and be able to demonstrate it is funding each library at a level of at least 70% of cost using the prior year’s operating expenditures (minus federal expenditures) to determine cost. As long as this minimum level is met, the county can distribute funds according to any formula specified in the county library plan.

Our county funds a books-by-mail service and a centralized processing service provided by a county library service. Does this funding count toward the 70% level of required county funding?

An individual library board may elect to have county funding for "shared services" such as a centralized processing service, credited toward the 70% level rather than receive the funding directly.

Counties are specifically allowed to exceed the 70% level for the purpose of funding direct services, shared services, library reimbursements, or any other library funding.

How does an individual library "elect" to have county funding for "shared services" such as a centralized processing service, credited toward the 70% level rather than receive the funding directly?

One method could be passage of an annual resolution by the library board indicating the dollar amount of the total county funding due the library for service to county residents who do not maintain a library and the dollar amount of the county funding due the library that the library board would like paid directly to the system and/or county library service for shared services.

How is the county payment made? Is the county payment check made out to the library or to the municipality? Can the library deposit the check in its own bank account?

By Wis. Stat. s. 43.12 (2) and (3), the county payment must be made to the library either directly or to the library system which then pays the library (see below). The check must then be deposited with the municipality in a fund under library board control. Wisconsin libraries are not allowed to maintain custody of government-appropriated funds.

Our county pays all library funding to our library system for distribution to individual libraries. Is this acceptable under the new law?

Yes, but the systems must adhere to the 70% minimum payment to county libraries requirement. An additional requirement is that a system can only handle these payments if provided for in an agreement between the county and the library system or between the county and the municipality receiving the payment.

Can a county avoid the new county funding requirements by withdrawing its membership from the library system?

No. The new Wisconsin Statutes s. 43.12 county funding requirements do not apply only to counties that are library system members, they apply to all Wisconsin counties.

Since the new county library funding requirements are not system membership requirements, how can the required county funding be enforced?

County boards respond to constituent needs. Because this new law responds to the widely recognized need for greater library funding equity, it can be expected that county boards will comply with this law which expresses the needs of constituents and the will of the citizens of Wisconsin as represented by the legislature and governor. In the unlikely event of non-compliance, legal action to enforce the law could be brought by a municipality providing service to county residents and perhaps a harmed taxpayer.

Does the statutory county tax levy rate freeze prevent an increase in county library funding?

No. As long as at least one municipality in the county is exempt from the county library levy, county library funding is excluded from levy rate freeze calculations. The vast majority of Wisconsin counties either have at least one municipality that is exempt from the county library levy, or have municipalities that could exempt themselves. The exceptions are primarily consolidated county libraries, and they are specifically exempt from the 70% funding requirement.

Our library will receive a significant increase in county funding when this part of the statutes takes affect. Can our municipality reduce its library support by the amount of this increase in county funding?

Municipalities must continue to maintain library funding at a level of at least the average of the previous three years as a statutory requirement of library system membership. County funding cannot be included in calculations of a municipality’s maintenance of effort funding requirement.

When county funding of our library reaches the statutorily required level, does the county have the right to appoint a representative to our library board?

Perhaps. Wisconsin Statutes s. 43.60 (3) provides that whenever a county appropriates funds for a municipal library equaling at least one-sixth of the amount appropriated by the municipality, the county may appoint a library board member to serve in addition to those appointed by the municipality. Two board members may be appointed when the county appropriates at least one-third the amount appropriated by the municipality.

What is the new statutory standard for exemption from the county library property tax levy?

First, find out the county tax rate for library service in the current year (which is based on the county library appropriation approved the prior fall and equalized property valuations set by the State Department of Revenue the prior year). Then, apply this rate to the library municipality’s equalized property valuations set by the Department of Revenue the current year. If the municipality’s library appropriation for the upcoming year is greater than the result of this calculation, the library’s municipality may apply to the county for exemption from the county library tax. However, any library not meeting minimum standards adopted as part of the county library plan may be denied an exemption.

If our library receives substantially more county funding in 2001 as a result of the new "70 percent" funding requirement, will that affect the ability of our municipality to qualify for funding under the Wisconsin Expenditure Restraint Program?

Perhaps. If additional county funding results in considerably higher library expenditures that are not offset by spending limits in other departments, higher library expenditures might contribute to a municipality's inability to benefit from the Expenditure Restraint Program. An exception is in municipalities that have established a special purpose library fund for public library expenditures. If a public library is funded through a public library fund, those expenditures have no impact on qualification for the Expenditure Restraint Program because that program only restricts spending out of the general fund--special fund expenditures are exempt from inclusion in Expenditure Restraint Program calculations. Any municipality may establish a public library fund and the DLCL encourages creation of a library fund by municipalities with public libraries.

I have other questions. Who do I contact?

Contact your library system for specific questions about your library's situation. More general questions can be directed to John DeBacher, DPI, Public Library Administration Consultant, (608) 266-7270.

For questions about this information, contact John K. DeBacher (608) 266-7270

Last updated on 2/25/2008 9:06:01 AM