Garfield County Public Library District (GCPLD) will go into 2024 short a board member. That was the decision of the trustees at their monthly meeting in New Castle on Dec. 7.
The board took the recommendation of GCPLD executive director Jamie LaRue to wait until next year to nominate another trustee after he, board president Adrian Rippy-Sheehy and attorney Kim Seter met in a Zoom meeting in November to discuss the issue.
In an email to the Sopris Sun, LaRue said the Zoom meeting lasted about 15 minutes. “We met because the county commissioners departed from a longstanding tradition to deny a board member the trustees had chosen,” LaRue explained. “If that’s an attempt at unilateral changes in the appointment process, it’s definitely worth looking at through a legal lens.”
LaRue said they were touching base to make sure they were preserving and correctly interpreting evidence of Garfield County commissioners’ actions. “Will that result in legal action? It kind of depends on what happens next time [GCPLD presents to the commissioners a trustee nomination for approval]”, LaRue said.
The Garfield County commissioners surprised library officials and others earlier this year when they unexpectedly denied the nomination of applicant Hanna Arauza. The commissioners said they didn’t think Arauza represented Rifle (whose board seat was vacant). “I have no idea what they meant by that. She is indeed a resident of Rifle,” LaRue said.
The board will probably advertise for a candidate in February. Although the library district’s bylaws say it’s preferable for each of the six branches’ geographic areas to have their own representative, in the event of an on-going vacancy they can nominate a candidate from anywhere in the district.
In other news from the Dec. 7 meeting, the trustees approved the 2024 budget that calls for $14.8 million in revenues and $11.3 million in expenditures. The budget predicts a $21 million general fund surplus in 2024 — an increase for at least the third year in a row — which breaks down as $13.2 million (actual in 2022) and $17.5 million (estimated for 2023), according to the budget.
When asked why the district is carrying such a hefty surplus fund balance, LaRue said it’s because the district relies heavily on oil and gas tax revenues, which are expected to decrease in 2025. With a $21 million surplus, hopefully the district won’t be forced to lay off employees in case of a revenue downturn.
The trustees also certified the 2024 mill levy, which breaks down this way: 2.5 mills total, with 1.5 mill permanent and 1 mill for building and operating six libraries; the 1 mill levy expires in 2027. LaRue said that, by law, the Garfield County commissioners must certify the levy.
A majority of GCPLD revenues come from oil and gas properties (55.8 percent), residential properties (21 percent) and commercial properties (13 percent).
The board approved closure dates for 2024. Holidays are: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
The board meeting dates for 2024 are as follows (all at 2pm): Jan. 4 in Rifle, Feb. 1 in New Castle, March 7 in Rifle, April 4 in Glenwood Springs, May 2 in Parachute, June 6 in Carbondale, July 11 in Glenwood Springs, Aug. 1 in Parachute, Sept. 5 in Carbondale, Oct. 3 in Rifle, Nov. 7 in Silt and Dec. 5 in New Castle.