Thank you from the library

Thank you to all the voters who participated Nov. 8 and voted to approve the library’s two-mill levy. We here at the library — staff, Friends of the Library, foundation, executive board and all of our wonderful volunteers — appreciate the powerful support from the community. Havre-Hill County Library is your library, and we will continue to work hard and make improvements.

The library is funded primarily by tax revenue from the city and the county, which is one reason why we are so dedicated to providing the best services we can to our community. This past year, the fiscal year that runs from July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017, the city of Havre had to make some tough budgetary decisions. We were told we would likely be held to our budget cap, resulting in a significant decrease in our budget. We decided to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Asking the voters for an increase to our county mill levies was our most practical and sustainable option for the future, and it is thanks to the county commissioners that we were able to get it on the ballot.

It is thanks to you, our wonderful community, that the library is now financially secure for the foreseeable future. The library’s mill levy passed, increasing our county mills from 3 to 5. If, like me, you’re a book person and not a numbers person, this means we will be buying more books and movies than ever before, updating our technology faster, and looking for opportunities to provide better service than ever.

The library will be opening Saturdays again, noon to 5 p.m., beginning Nov. 19! The Saturday closure allowed us to save money and figure out how to move forward, but it was at the expense of service to our community. We deeply regret the temporary compromise to the service we provide, and look forward to the improvements we will be able to make to our services now.

Our deepest gratitude, again, to the community and the voters who made this happen. Thanks to the county of Hill and the city of Havre for working with us through this process. Thanks to the library executive board, the library foundation, and the Friends of the Library who all worked hard to get information out to the voters so that the community could make an informed decision on how to vote. Special thanks to Bonnie Williamson, who spearheaded the volunteer effort. And thanks to everyone hoofing it around town with brochures and talking to people about the mill levy.

If you have any questions, concerns comments, or have a good idea for how we can improve our services to the community, please call Rachel at 265-2123. You can also email me at [email protected], or just stop in at 402 Third Street. Like Havre-Hill County Library on Facebook to keep abreast of our events and services.

Havre-Hill County Library Director Rachel Rawn

Havre