Clearwater County will provide $23,000 in emergency funding to help the Rocky Mountain House Public Library cover a $46,000 budget shortfall caused by a recent change to provincial grant allocations.
The decision mirrors one made by the Town of Rocky Mountain House on Nov. 18, when council approved its own $23,000 one-time contribution.
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The shortfall stems from a shift in how the province distributes library grants following the amalgamation of Clearwater County and the former village of Caroline.
The change redirected provincial funding—money that previously went directly to the Rocky Library—to the new Clearwater County Library Board (CCLB) instead.
According to Clearwater County financial services director Rhonda Serhan, the restructuring altered which populations are counted when the province distributes its grants.
Before amalgamation, Rocky Mountain House and Caroline each had their own library boards.
Caroline received provincial funding based on its village population, while Clearwater County, which did not have its own board, received no direct provincial library grant.
Instead, the Parkland Regional Library System received funding on behalf of county residents and distributed it to local libraries, including Rocky, Nordegg and Caroline.
The funding was divvied up based on factors such as number of registered library cards.
With the formation of the CCLB, the county now has its own library authority representing Caroline and Nordegg. As a result, the province shifted the Caroline population-based funding to the new county board.
Library Manager Ben Worth says timing was a factor — as Parkland brought the change to the Rocky Library board’s attention in May, months after the budget had been set.
Parkland suggested, to avoid any disruption, the Rocky Library could draft an agreement between it and the CCLB. Worth says, however, no agreement was reached in time.
Rocky Library Manager Ben Worth speaking to funding changes
“We’re all over the map, here”
During deliberation, Clearwater County Ward 2 councillor Hazen Letwin inquired about the possibility of the county creating one library board supporting Rocky, Caroline, Nordegg and all rural county residents.
Sydney Graham, Community Services supervisor says the idea of a universal library board will be discussed at an upcoming Intermunicipal Collaboration Committee (ICC) meeting.
What’s next
Worth confirms the town and county have indeed discussed the possibility of having one board for the entire region, which would effectively dissolve the CCLB and the Rocky Library Board.
Another option, he says, would be to arrive at a cost-sharing agreement between the two separate town and rural library boards.
Rocky Library Chair Lori Pratt said that — no matter what happens — county residents will continue to rely heavily on Rocky Library resources.
“Our library board and staff are extremely grateful to the town of Rocky Mountain House and Clearwater County councils for their understanding in this matter, and providing us with the funds to make up for that loss of funding,” says Worth.
Before the funding was secured, the Rocky Library warned that without assistance, it may have to cut programming or lay off staff.
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