Library staff and supporters were relieved when, in mid-April, Washoe County offered $1.3 million to keep libraries fully funded for the next fiscal year. But county commissioners put the plan on hold the following week, after library board chair Ann Silver requested more time to review spending.
“Our board has not fully vetted the library budget,” she said. “Nor do we have a comprehensive understanding if efficiencies can be found.”
Now, county staff expect the library board to meet publicly on May 7, for a special meeting to revisit a departmental budget that’s been in the works for months.
“Their goal is to fully understand the budget, fully understand the operational level, and then make a recommendation to the board of county commissioners to allocate the proper funding,” said Abigail Yacoben, the county’s chief financial officer.
The pause in budget discussions comes at a vulnerable time for the library system.
Former library director Jeff Scott worked with county commissioners to get the additional $1.3 million from the general fund, before he resigned under pressure from the library board and anti-LGBTQ+ protesters.
Originally, that funding would have gone to libraries anyway, under a funding arrangement that used to send a portion of property taxes directly to the system. But voters rejected a ballot measure to renew the tax override last November.
During their last meeting, Republican county commissioners Clara Andriola and Mike Clark said they wouldn’t approve additional library funding until Silver was convinced it was necessary. They only have until May 20 to decide, however — that’s when the board is scheduled to approve the county’s final budget for Fiscal Year 2026.
Meanwhile, library trustees have already had at least one opportunity to learn more about the budgeting process. Yacoben hosted an informal training session for them last week, but Silver wasn’t there.
Instead, she was meeting with Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D–NV) in her capacity as CEO of the Reno + Sparks Chamber of Commerce.
