With a new central location in the works, city council wants more say over Guelph Public Library’s operating budget.
With that in mind, council unanimously approved a motion Tuesday evening increasing its representation on the board to three members from one, in addition to the traditional 10 community members.
“The new main library … will have a significant impact on our city. Once that new, main branch library is built out, the operating budget for the library will increase significantly. For those reasons, I would like to see additional members of council participate in the board,” explained Coun. Rodrigo Goller, who put the idea forward.
“We receive, as council, a budget we can say yes or no to, but by having members participate in the budget-making process, then we can influence that at the base and have greater input.”
A new central library was approved in 2021 as part of the Baker Street parking lot redevelopment project. It comes with an anticipated price tag of $62 million.
At the time of approval, it was estimated the new library will come with a $3 million increase to operating costs.
Council has multiple reps on the Guelph Police Services Board and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health board, Goller noted.
Council unanimously appointed councillors Leanne Caron and Carly Klassen to the library board, along with Goller.
