Council moves forward to merge La Crosse city and county library systems

County board may not be so enthusiastic to approve

A move to combine the La Crosse city and county library systems will move forward.

The city council voted to enter into an agreement that would combine the city and county libraries under one system by July 1 next year.

La Crosse Mayor Tim Kabat has pushed the plan as a way to maintain services at all library branches while saving money.

Kabat also insists that having one system for library services makes funding of libraries much more fair in the city because right now 20 percent of those who use the city libraries don’t pay taxes to help pay for those services.

The county board would still have to approve the change and haven’t indicated any willingness to do so yet.