Delta council this week approved another increase for the city’s share of the Fraser Valley Regional Library (FVRL) budget.
The recommended option sees an increase in the member assessment by 4.25 per cent ($190,916) for a total contribution of $4,682,515 for 2025.
The FVRL board establishes an annual budget for the provision of library services to its 15 member jurisdictions. Each member municipality is charged a levy to cover operating costs of the library branches and central administration.
Delta has libraries in Ladner, Tsawwassen and North Delta.
Last December, council approved Delta’s share of the FVRL budget for 2024 to increase by 6.76 per cent, which worked out to $276,792, for a total budget of $4,491,599.
That’s way up from the almost $3.5 million Delta paid to be a member in 2016.
A report to council notes that the recommended budget option for next year includes, among other things, a one-time $306,000 increase to the total FVRL budget digital materials, funded through the 2023 Provincial Enhancement Grant.
While the grant is a one-time funding source, the FVRL indicates that digital material purchases will occur only in 2025, with an approximate one per cent ongoing member assessment levy required from 2026 onward to maintain digital material funding.
Coun. Rod Binder, one of Delta’s representatives on the FVRL board, noted that while hardcopies of books are a one-time purchase, popular e-books may seem less expensive but require licence renewals.
