La Crosse mayor proposes city-county library merger

At least one city council rep. 
skeptical because of timeline

La Crosse mayor Tim Kabat has introduced his plan to merge the city and county library systems by next June.

This is one of those, “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” kind of things.

Kabat wants the county library system to take over operation of the city libraries.  

A merger that seems a little quick to city council rep. James Cherf, who is also on the library board.

“This is not something that I think can be thoughtfully implemented in a very short period of time,” Cherf said. “If this discussion is going to occur, we need to take our time and ask all the questions and ask them again, and evaulate the information.”

Kabat has often complained that, because 20 percent of the city’s library system users come from outside of La Crosse, they pay nothing to help provide for the service.  

He believes the merger would also eliminate duplication of services, lower costs for taxpayers and insure the long-term viability of all of the city’s library branches.

Which all might be true, says Cherf, but he questions whether the city council will get enough public input – something he insists on – to vote on the plan by next month.

“I don’t believe that you could even begin to scratch the surface in 30 days,” Cherf said. 

In Kabat’s vision, the county would run the libraries and the city would provide the space.