With more than 20 people wanting to address the Board of County Commissioners on June 14, the meeting was moved from the regular meeting room to one of the larger courtrooms. The main topic of discussion for the evening was a funding request for the Macon County Public Library and a Pride display at the library.
During the June 7 budget work session, Commissioner Ronnie Beale requested an additional $20,000 to support library staff salaries. The 2022-23 budget includes an increase of $52,470 over this year’s funding for the library for a total of $1,101,860. The library’s original request for the upcoming fiscal year was $1,158,000.
At that meeting, Commissioner Paul Higdon objected to Beale’s request for increased funding and referenced a Pride Month display at the library. “I have a hard time allocating an increase to a publicly funded institution that supports a display that is so divisive in our community,” he said.
Twelve people signed up to speak during last week’s public hearing on the county budget, and then more spoke before the close of the hearing. There were people who supported Higdon and did not think the library was the place for such a display or that the library should remain neutral on such matters.
“My main issue with what is going on right now is the fact that taxpayer money is going to promote so openly, and directly to children, the LGBT agenda,” said Dylan Castle.
He said there are more important issues facing the county that need funding. He also believes there is an equality issue in that he does not see taxpayer dollars supporting Christian education, Bibles in school or God in school. “When I look at equality, I’m not actually seeing equality, I’m seeing something this is one sided.”
Leah Gaston spoke in opposition to the library display, saying it is her responsibility as a parent, not the library’s, to teach her child about sexuality. She said she was concerned that “dangerous sexual themes” were becoming more mainstream. She was thankful that Higdon took a principled stand and hopes that others will follow his lead and call out “the perversion that is destroying our country.”
Her husband, Jim Gaston, thanked Higdon and Commissioner Josh Young for their ability to say “no” to more spending. “Government’s nature is to become bloated without accountability,” he said.
He said it is OK to say “no” when a government agency creates controversy. “It is OK to say no to a public library when they promote dangerous themes as if they were normal.”
Others, however, were supportive of the display and the library as a place where people go for all kinds of information.
“This is about so much more than a very small book display,” said Angela Norman. In addressing Higdon directly, she said she respected him, knows members of his family and said that while he was a good father, that not all children in Macon County have good fathers, good mothers or good parents. “We can offer them a safe place to go, a safe place to go research surrounded by safe adults.”
She said she hoped people could “come together and find a common ground to make Macon County a safe place for all our kids” and a “reasonable, ethical solution for our library and the salaries.”
Hannah Kruse said she spent a lot of time in the library when she was growing up, that the staff knew her by name and would set aside books they thought she would be interested in. “To be totally honest and transparent, books and my time at our library saved my life,” she said. “Something the library staff would never know until right now, was that our public library was my refuge and escape from the sexual abuse of childhood despite being brought up in a Christian home.”
She said she was heartbroken when she heard the reason the increased funding might not be approved. “I am proud to read books to my children that help them better understand the world around them,” she said.
Jared Gant said the library staff should not be punished for doing their jobs and doing it well, and that by doing so the board members were using their power to silence information they do not agree with.
“The men and women of the Macon County Public Library are without a doubt changing lives,” he said noting that his five-year-old daughter wanted to have her birthday party at the library because she loves going there so much. “They deserve every penny we can squeeze out of this budget.”
Higdon responds
Following, the comments from the public, Higdon read a statement clarifying his position on the budget and the library display.
“I have stated I would not support any new tax increases, as I think our local government has adequate funds to provide high levels of service to our constituents,” he said. Higdon said he disagrees with some items in the budget but know he is in the minority.
“In our current economic conditions when many people are having to make serious financial adjustments just to make ends meet, I cannot support increasing the budget $2.3 million over last year. I cannot support any fire tax increase that will be approved for some volunteer fire departments, nor a four and half percent salary to county staff. I think that’s excessive.”
Regarding the library, Higdon said he thinks the board and the library need to revisit the salary issue when the memorandum of agreement comes up for review later this year. He pointed out that when the county allocates money for the library, it is not earmarked for specific line items such as salaries – the money is paid out to Fontana Regional Library, which then determines how the money is spent.
As a military veteran, Higdon said he defends anyone’s right to support the Gay Pride Movement, but he does not think the library is the place for such a display and that issues such as sexuality and gender identification should be reserved for parents to talk with their children about.
“I stated I could not support any increase in public funding to assist in a gay pride display in the teen section of the library which is public property funded by taxpayers. The display should be moved onto private property and funded with private donations. There is no hate in that statement,” he said.
He said it is the role of the County Commissioners to set the tone for the county and to provide safe, welcoming environment for all users. “In my opinion this display does not support that criteria, and I cannot support this funding proposal.”
Library response
The three county libraries have 27 employees - 20 in Franklin, five in Highlands and two in Nantahala.
Library Director Karen Wallace said the library requested an increase in funding this year to keep up with the rate of inflation. She spoke of the dedication of the library staff and the importance of compensating them. “If you don’t increase the pay for employees, you’re likely not going to be able to keep them.”
Higdon asked if the library could use part of its fund balance to pay salaries, but Wallace said the fund balance could not be used for operating costs. She also said that some of the money in the library’s budget is grant money that must be spent on specific items.
Wallace said they will dedicate as much of the county funding as possible for improving employees’ wages, but they also have other expenses that must be covered.
The county owns the library building, pays for building and grounds maintenance, and the utilities. Fontana Regional Library pays for the waste disposal and telephone fees. The county has designated $500,000 for a new library/community center in Nantahala.
Bill Dyar spoke on behalf of the library board of trustees and noted that the library received a 5% increase in funding over the last 10 years and during that time inflation increased 16%, not including the inflation increase of 2022.
“This negative pattern has the greatest impact on library staff and their retention,” Dyer said, adding that the starting pay for most library employees is $10 an hour.
Dyer began his comments by commending the work of the library volunteers. In addition to volunteering time for the library, the Friends of the Library’s fundraising efforts help offset some of the budget deficit each year. He said the volunteers could probably find books within the library that they disagree with but they “set aside those personal differences for the greater good of the library mission.”
Fund balance
Prior to voting on the budget, Commissioner Josh Young said he wanted to take a business approach to the budget.
“I feel like government is very ineffective with money,” he said. “If this were the private sector we likely would have gone out of business a long time ago.”
He questioned what is the “big picture” for the county and what does the county have to show for a growing budget and a high fund balance. The 2021-22 budget was $56,681,218. The projected budget for the coming year is $59,047,113. The fund balance is approximately $36.1 million.
“I feel like it is my job to hold this board accountable,” he said.
He said he did not think a lot of nonprofits should be funded with county money and that clubs and churches could support those organizations. This year 12 nonprofits are receiving $75,000 from the Community Funding Pool.
Commissioner Beale said the services the nonprofits provide probably save the county “millions of dollars” and the county would likely have to pick up some of those services if the nonprofits did not provide them.
Beale also addressed the fund balance question and gave as an example of how the county provided $11 million during the Peek’s Creek mudslide in 2004, and that was possible because there was strong fund balance. He said it took 12 years to get that back from the federal government.
“We have to be very careful with our fund balance – that’s our savings account. If you start spending the fund balance for reoccurring costs, you will go broke,” he said. “I think that’s a fair fund balance and I wish we could put more in it.”
He said it’s OK to use the fund balance occasionally for one-time expenditures, but not reoccurring costs.
Commissioner Gary Shields pointed out a good fund balance will be necessary as the county moves forward with the Franklin High School project.
The $59 million county budget for fiscal year 2022-2023 passed 3-2 with Commissioners Higdon and Young opposing.
The Macon County Board of Commissioners and the Board of Education will meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 19 to present the Franklin High School assessment. The meeting will be at the FHS Fine Arts Center.