Gwinnett library board approves budget that keeps doors open 7 days

County commissioners will be developing Gwinnett's countywide calendar-year budget in the next few months and could decide to cut library funding in January.

To prepare for that possibility, library board member Phillip Saxton asked the library system staff on Monday to plan for 10 percent and 20 percent cuts in county funding.

“I hope this does not happen,” Saxton said. “I have no reason to believe it will. I just want to be prepared.”

Facing a 10 percent county budget cut last summer, the library system closed its 14 branches on Sundays and Mondays and reduced hours other days. Library hours ultimately were reduced from 71 hours to 35 hours a week. They have since been restored to 53 hours a week, and branches are open Sundays and Mondays.

The library board also scrambled to find a way to pay for the cost of operating a new branch at Hamilton Mill, which opened in April. The board proposed closing the Dacula branch and shifting resources to Hamilton Mill, but later scrapped that plan in the face of public opposition.

It then proposed a system of regional and neighborhood libraries that would have seen some branches converted to computer labs. The board abandoned that idea after three county commissioners threatened to disband the library board.

Ultimately, the county commission approved a property tax increase that spared the library system from some cuts.

In its budget, the library board continued to scrimp on staffing, materials and other expenses. No raises for employees were included.