Mitch Stone - reporter@highlandsnews.com
The Fontana Regional Library (FRL) Board met for its bi-monthly meeting on Wednesday, May 13, at the Albert Carlton-Cashiers Community Library discussing topics including the distribution of net surplus funds, approval of the 2026–27 fiscal year budget and committee reports.
Reports
In his director’s report as interim director, FRL Board Chair Bill McGaha said, in consultation with the finance officer and both the finance and personnel committees, he approved stipends for seven employees who have taken on additional workloads and higher levels of responsibility following director, librarian, branch librarian and assistant county librarian resignations. He also approved a 10% pay increase for the finance officer effective July 1, 2026.
“We absolutely appreciate the FRL employees, whether at headquarters or in the libraries, who are stepping up and ensuring continuity of operations,” said McGaha.
Deborah Smith of the personnel committee reported the committee discussed funding $1,500 stipends for all FRL employees who remain employed in the FRL system through June 30. The finance committee verified that vacancies at headquarters, Jackson County Public Library (JCPL) and the Albert-Carlton Cashiers Community Library (ACCCL), created sufficient funds to cover the $1,500 approved at the March meeting without using the fund balance.
Smith also updated members on the hiring of a financial specialist and full-time library assistants at ACCCL and JCPL. Four interviews were scheduled during the week of May 11, including two for the branch librarian position at Albert-Carlton Cashiers Community Library.
The neutrality committee met on April 2 to begin developing a neutrality policy. Smith said the committee found limited examples of comprehensive neutrality policies, with many addressing only specific areas such as political neutrality.
“I think the most important thing is to have a good foundation, and part of that foundation is knowing what the literature says, what the professional organizations are saying, what their guidelines are, and the opinions of people who run and manage libraries,” said Smith.
Smith added that the committee surveyed literature, reviewed two sample policies from other institutions, evaluated multiple codes of ethics and held preliminary discussions about the overlap between collection development and neutrality policy. The committee also discussed drafting a preamble explaining why it believes such a policy is necessary.
The director search committee, led by McGaha, has received a number of applications. The board later met in closed session to discuss the search.
Distribution of net surplus funds
Lori Richards moved that the board authorize the distribution of calculated net surplus funds attributable to Jackson County, Macon County and Swain County, for the sole purpose of supporting public library services in each county. The authorized initial distributions, totaling $1,350,311.38, would not exceed $738,696.16 for Jackson County, $525,401.97 for Macon County and $86,213.25 for Swain County.
“These excess funds have been allowed to accumulate over 80 years in a bank account with virtually no growth, failing to benefit those taxpayers and donors who have contributed to the FRL over these many years,” said Richards. “We, as a board, must demonstrate leadership with integrity. By approving this motion, we affirm our commitment to transparency, we honor the taxpayers and donors who sustain us, and we begin to set the FRL on a path of clarity, financial accountability, and equity.”
Cynthia Womble noted that Swain County has provided free rent for the FRL headquarters for 80 years, and county commissioners have expressed concerns that this has not been appreciated by the other two counties.
“When they see this, if it hasn’t been socialized to them, which it sounds like it hasn’t, I am concerned they’re going to look at the percentage that Swain is getting and say it was based only on the cash that was put in the budget and not on the value of the lease,” said Womble.
Womble motioned to table the proposal until the June 22 meeting to allow the board time to fully assess the plan and allow Swain County to review it. The motion failed in a 2-6 vote, with Womble and Tony Monnat voting in favor.
Denise Boothby later motioned to approve the distribution while delaying payments until the amounts were confirmed in writing, and additional consideration be given to Swain County based upon the fair value of the space they've provided in the eight fiscal years under consideration.
The motion carried in a 5-3 vote, with Richards, Marva Jennings and Monnat voting against.
Old business
Monnat provided an update on the Marianna Black Library building project, saying construction is moving forward, with steelwork and sheathing underway. He also said the project received a $150,000 grant from the Glass Foundation.
Kathy Smith briefed the board on the Hudson Library renovations, noting that the outdoor space is fully funded and under construction, while the indoor renovations remain in the fundraising phase.
“The outdoor space is on track to open this summer and will have a covered pavilion, walking trails and landscaping nooks with benches to invite patrons to sit outside, read, or just make friends,” said Kathy Smith.
The board approved changes to the director job description in a vote of seven in favor, with one abstention from Boothby.
New Business
Abby Hardison, county librarian at Macon County Public Library, presented the new FRL website.
“Our old website was an outdated platform that utilized Drupal coding, which is a very niche code that not many people know how to do, and the ones that do are very expensive,” said Hardison.
The site was transferred to CivicPlus, a vendor-hosting platform for municipalities and public service organizations. The updated website is ADA compliant and allows trained employees at multiple locations to post updates, alerts and calendar entries. Navigation is organized with expandable menus to provide streamlined access.
The calendar allows events to be sortable by branch and age group, and visitors can stay up to date by subscribing to iCalendar or signing up for Notify Me to receive emails and texts. The website also includes a special section for meeting records, providing organized access to approved minutes and video links.
Cheryl Taylor of the bylaws committee motioned to update Article 4, Meeting Section 4.1, which states that the board of trustees hold regular bimonthly meetings on the second Tuesday of January, March, May, July, September and November at 4 p.m. The proposed update changes meetings to the second Monday and adds the phrase “unless announced otherwise” regarding the meeting time. The motion was unanimously approved.
According to the bylaws, the board also elects officers at its July meeting. The board opted to form a nomination committee with one representative from Macon County and one from Swain County. Monnat will represent Swain, while Boothby will represent Macon.
Budget
Financial Officer Lisa Kim Fisher presented the FY 2026-2027 budget, which will be posted to the FRL website for 30 days, though revisions can be made during that time. The proposed budget totals $2,865,271.
“Jackson County is leaving the FRL on June 30, 2026, and their departure means expenses for the FRL will increase,” said Kim Fisher. “The FRL is in the process of hiring a full-time director, and previously, the director position was filled by a county librarian, so that is an added expense this year.”
On the expenditure side, the FRL expects a 15% increase in healthcare premiums from Blue Cross Blue Shield, along with a rise in the FRL contribution rate for a mandatory retirement package through the Local Government Employees’ Retirement System from 14.35% to 15.1%, though the employee portion will remain at 6%.
“We also see the county budget request increasing, and a lot of those are to cover things that are affected because state aid went down with Jackson County leaving and shared expenses increasing for the other two counties remaining,” said Kim Fisher.
The budget is split into an FRL summary and detailed budgets for individual libraries and headquarters.
Property distribution
McGaha made several motions regarding property at the JCPL and ACCCL following their departure from the FRL on June 30, 2026. The motions addressed how equipment, supplies, and materials at the libraries would be transferred or retained. All motions passed unanimously.