Budget cuts prompt Saturday library closing

The Havre-Hill County Library, faced with budget cuts, will be closed on Saturdays beginning July 2.

“After much discussion and deliberation, the Havre-Hill County Library Board of Trustees and the library staff have decided that the best course of action right now is to close the library on Saturday,” library director Rachel Rawn said in a statement.

The cash-strapped city of Havre cut the allocation to the library by $30,000.

The city and Hill County have traditionally shared the cost of the library.

The county levies a 3 mill tax that goes directly to the library.

There has been discussion, library officials have said, of increasing the rate by 1 mill, but no action has been taken.

Rawn said she hoped that closing the library Saturdays would not be permanent and that Saturday hours would resume when the budget situation stabilizes.

“For now, we just do not have the money to pay for staff needed to stay open on Saturdays,” Rawn said.

The biggest impact will be on the library budget for buying books, Rawn said.

The Friends of the Havre Hill County Library, a group of residents that supports library efforts, and the Havre-Hill County Library Foundation will supplement the purchase of books and other materials during the coming fiscal year, she said.

This is only a temporary solution, and the library staff will be working on a long-term solution.

The foundation has traditionally sponsored special programs for the library, Rawn said, such as the Summer Reading Program and the Winter Reading Series. The foundation paid for new carpeting when the basement flooded and buys robotic supplies for the Lego Time program.

Despite the budget cuts, she said, summer programs will continue as normal.

If county officials decide to go ahead with the mill levy increase, voters will get a chance to vote on it in the Nov. 8 general election.