<div>Winona County will not cut funding for local libraries, the County Board decided in a 3-2 vote on Tuesday night. A $76,700 reduction to county funding for the Winona, St. Charles, and La Crescent libraries was one of numerous potential cuts proposed by county staff earlier this year to deal with an expected $4.6 million deficit in next year’s budget. Dissenting board members said it was premature to rule out library cuts, given the other tough decisions that lie ahead, but the board majority said the outpouring of citizen comments they received urging them against library cuts was too much to ignore.Commissioners and county staff have been taking an especially close look at the budget this year because they’re expecting reduced federal funding for food stamps and Medicaid, increased costs to administer state-required programs, and inflation in general will make it difficult to balance next year’s budget without a property tax hike well north of 10%. The proposed library cuts would have reduced the county’s funding for the three libraries from $247,400 to the minimum required by state law, roughly $170,700, a 31% reduction. While the County Board had only briefly touched on the proposed cut in its discussions — and may not have decided on it until September or even December — the prospect got the attention of local libraries and supporters. Libraries said the reduction would force them to reduce programming, materials, and services, and scores of citizens contacted their county commissioners and spoke at meetings in support of their local library. So many children and families benefit from the wonderful librarians in Winona and their programming, Diana Cyert told the County Board in June. “If we end up with cuts to that, I’m afraid what would happen to the helpers of those little children in the library,” she said.County Board member Dwayne Voegeli said the amount of citizen comments he’s received on this topic is among the highest ever — right up there with a years-long debate over commercial dog breeding. He and County Board member Chris Meyer proposed Tuesday’s vote to freeze library funding at its current level.“Part of my goal is to put it to rest, to clarify it,” Voegeli said, adding that then both county officials and concerned citizens can move on. “I think we should address it and get it off the table because there are a lot of other issues we're going to talk about,” he added.County Board members Josh Elsing and Marcia Ward opposed making a decision yet. Elsing referenced the numerous other outside organizations that request county funding, including veterans’ groups, 4-H, food shelves, the county fair, and assistance for victims of domestic violence. “So in essence we're just putting [library funding] in the budget prematurely,” he said, before the county hears from these other groups. Elsing said he has nothing against libraries, but added, “It’s the cart in front of the horse. I'm sure all of these outside agencies would love for us to commit to something early."Similarly, Ward had asked for a presentation from Southeastern Libraries Cooperating (SELCO), the library co-op that divvies up the county’s funding. “I definitely want to hear from SELCO how they're running and what they're doing … So I guess I’m not ready to commit to a dollar amount in our budget yet until I hear what they're doing,” she said.Meyer, Voegeli and County Board member Greg Olson voted 3-2 to freeze library funding, with Elsing and Ward voting no.Meyer and Olson didn’t express their views at the meeting, but they voiced support for libraries in interviews earlier this month. “I don’t think that cutting funding to libraries is going to solve our budget problems,” Olson previously told the Post. Meyer hadn’t made up her mind when she spoke with the Post in early July, expressing both support for libraries and caution about what other critical services might need to be cut instead. “I’ve seen there is a big response from the community, and that’s important to me,” she said.</div>

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Winona County will not cut funding for local libraries, the County Board decided in a 3-2 vote on Tuesday night. A $76,700 reduction to county funding for the Winona, St. Charles, and La Crescent libraries was one of numerous potential cuts proposed by county staff earlier this year to deal with an expected $4.6 million deficit in next year’s budget. Dissenting board members said it was premature to rule out library cuts, given the other tough decisions that lie ahead, but the board majority said the outpouring of citizen comments they received urging them against library cuts was too much to ignore.

Winona County nixes library cuts in split vote

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Winona County will not cut funding for local libraries, the County Board decided in a 3-2 vote on Tuesday night. A $76,700 reduction to county funding for 

Winona County nixes library cuts in split vote

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