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MARSHALL -- Possible funding cuts by Lyon County could mean reductions in operations at the Marshall-Lyon County Library, according to agenda materials for this week's Marshall City Council meeting.
A discussion of 2027 library funding is on the agenda for Tuesday's council meeting.
Funding allocations for the library have been part of ongoing budget talks for the Lyon County Board of Commissioners this summer. The county is facing budget challenges like rising costs for insurance and health and human services. At earlier budget talks, Lyon County commissioners considered reducing the amount of funds they give to the library, while still meeting the standards of an agreement with the city, and the minimum maintenance of effort required by the state of Minnesota.
According to materials in the agenda for Tuesday's city council meeting, the city and the library director were recently informed by the county that the preliminary Lyon County budget for 2027 will include a $134,288 reduction in library funding.
The MLCL's current budget includes $824,447 in revenue from the city of Marshall and $412,223 from Lyon County, according to agenda packet materials. The library's 2027 draft budget includes a request for $880,576 in funding from the city and $440,288 from the county.
The library won't be able to absorb that kind of a funding reduction without making cuts to the library budget and its operations, according to agenda materials. The agenda packet recommended opposing the reduction in county funding.
The council’s agenda materials included a copy of the library agreement adopted by the city of Marshall and Lyon County in 2014. Under the agreement, Lyon County is to provide at least $200,000 per year of financial support for the library, as long as MLCL is part of a regional library system and is providing library services in the cities of Cottonwood and Balaton. Under the agreement, the city pays at least twice the amount that the county allocates to MLCL.
In 2025, the MLCL and its branches in Cottonwood and Balaton had an estimated total of over 100,600 visits, and a circulation of about 177,912 items checked out, according to agenda packet materials.
Minnesota cities and counties will set preliminary levy amounts this month. A final Lyon County levy and budget will need to be set before the end of the year. The final levy approved by the county can be lower, but not higher than the preliminary levy.