Maintenance of Membership Support
A Fair Share and a Choice
All local public libraries receive valuable services as a result of their voluntary membership in one of 17 regional public library systems. Membership of a public library in one of the co-operative library systems is voluntary and had to be approved by both the citizen-member library board and the elected-member funding authority, i.e. city council, county board, municipal board, etc. Under Wisconsin Statutes 43.15 (4)(c), local libraries must meet several requirements of system membership, including that the local library be funded at a level that is not lower than the average funding for the previous three years. This requirement is commonly referred to as maintenance of effort.
At a time when localities are under increasing pressure to keep property taxes reasonable, some local and state officials have considered repealing maintenance of effort requirements. WLA feels that retaining maintenance of effort as a condition of system membership is integral to the quality of libraries and library systems in the state for the following reasons:
- Current law allows the state to set a qualifications for agencies receiving state support, including libraries. One option might be to dictate the amount of local spending, for example an amount per capita. Another option might be to dictate the outcomes, for example number of books per capita.Rather than dictating local spending, this requirement sensibly ensures that a municipalitymaintains their support effort. This prevents funding authorities does not take from takingundue advantage of state funded library system services while failing to support its own library. In addition, current law protects a municipality (and property taxpayers) from neighboring libraries taking undue advantage while failing to support its own library.
- Current law allows municipalities the flexibility they need to cut budgets during lean times. Many public library budgets have been cut while still upholding the maintenance of effort requirements that allow taxpayers to receive the benefits of participation in a regional library system.
- In comparison with other states, Wisconsin ranks 8th per capita in circulation, but 19th for total operating revenue and 19th for total operating expenditures (http://harvester.census.gov/imls/pubs/pls/pub_detail.asp?id=121#). Wisconsin libraries work hard to provide good value to taxpayers. Even with maintenance of effort, the average local plus state per capita support for Wisconsin's public libraries is still pennies per day.
- Some communities have decided to increase library spending significantly because of increased needs for library service, including increasing and improving the physical space. However, maintenance of effort does not require increased spending.
- Every community that meets the maintenance of effort requirement receives the value of state support through public library co-operative systems, which provide services such as interlibrary loan and shared automated systems with neighboring libraries.
Back to Legislation & Advocacy