Staffing levels and online accessibility in Delta’s libraries will be preserved thanks to an increased budget recently approved by city council.
At its Nov. 9th meeting, council voted in favour of a Fraser Valley Regional Library 2021 budget option that would, in the eyes of Coun. Dylan Kruger, provide an answer to the uncertainty induced by COVID-19.
“We're in the middle of a pandemic, there's a lot of unknowns,” said Kruger, who is also Delta's representative on the FVRL board. “We don't know what next year's going to look like, so this is a budget that provides that flexibility.”
Each year the FVRL establishes a budget for providing library services to its 15-member jurisdictions, including Delta. A levy is charged to each member municipality to cover the operating costs of the library branches and the central administration service costs provided by the FVRL.
The approved 2021 budget boasts a total price tag of $3.9 million, a result of a $66,939 increase. The vote went against the recommendations made by city staff which advocated for a smaller increase of $60,457.
Kruger reasoned the need for the larger budget increase is born out of the heightened use of library services during the pandemic. Kruger referenced the doubling in circulation of online materials since COVID-19 first struck in March.
“Our physical materials are also holding very strong, but it looks different, it's a lot more placing a hold online and picking it up,” he said. “It's not the traditional way of browsing through library shelves as we’re used to.”
Mayor George Harvie also took the opportunity to defend the increase saying it is one of the lowest council has passed.
“Should council not approve this it would not be providing proper books and materials for Delta residents to use,” he said. “I think that's extremely important to recognize the need during a pandemic for our residents to have those products.”
