La Crosse library cutting hours was inevitable, despite a raise for employees

System was running on deficit and reserves have been exhausted

As small as it is, the raise for employees at the La Crosse library will get some of the blame for branch libraries trimming hours.

Library board rep. and city council member James Cherf says the impact on library operations of the one-percent raise in next year’s city budget was inevitable.

“Our largest expenses really boil down to our employment costs and benefits,” he said. “Material budget is relatively modest compared to our employment and benefit expenses.

“So yes, it, of course plays into it.” 

And any cost increase for the system was bound to have an impact since the system was operating at a bit of deficit anyway.

“Our budget has been augmented by our unextended reserves for the last few years,” Cherf said. “And those reserves have been depleted.”

South and north branches will cut hours by about one-third beginning in 2017. 

“The eminent raise is not something that either makes or breaks hours of operation,” Cherf said. “But, the fact that we have been supplementing a shortfall the last few years and we no longer have that cushion of money to further supplement that. That’s where the compression of hours comes into play.”

This week, a city council committee votes on the one-percent raise for library and other employees in the city, which would also begin in 2017.