Macon-Bibb library board weighs staff cuts, reduced hours in $168K budget shortfall

Middle Georgia Regional Library Director Jennifer Lautzenheiser realized the June meeting of the Macon-Bibb County Library Board would involve difficult decisions with a budget shortfall approaching $168,000.

Little homemade Biscoff cake balls she set on the table helped sugarcoat the bad news that the county’s budget allocation of $4.75 million will not fully cover the $4.91 million in expected costs for Fiscal Year 2027.

“We understand the delicate balance of the county in providing for all of the needs with their revenues. However, what was provided to us doesn’t actually meet the needs of us maintaining services,” Lautzenheiser told the board Tuesday evening. 

The board ultimately decided to dip into budget reserves, rely on financial help from the Friends of the Library for some children’s services, reduce its materials’ budget from the state’s goal of 10% to 6%, and cut funding for community gardens.

“Essentially, including the (reserve funds) basically allows you to balance out things the way they are currently, and does not get the option to eliminate somebody’s job, which scares me a lot,” board member Christele Parham said. “I don’t like that option.”

Personnel expenses make up the majority of the library’s budget, so jobs and some corresponding state benefits were on the chopping block as proposals to cut expenses.

Under one of the staff’s “buffet of options” that Lautzenheiser described, Macon-Bibb County would eliminate one full-time position and eight part-timers, which would have resulted in closing  all libraries on Sundays.

Currently, only the Shurling, Lanford and Cathy Ivey branches are open from 1-5 p.m. on Sundays, and Washington Library only offers limited “open access” services during those hours. “We staff not just for services but also for safety, and we are already at what we feel like is baseline for safety,” Lautzenheiser explained. “So, if we’re going to lose staff, we have to lose operating hours.”

Having adequate staffing to address safety issues is important when problems arise, such as the recent banning of two people for having inappropriate sexual activity in a bathroom. 

The library system’s workers are part of the State of Georgia’s health benefit plan and require contributions to the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia. 

Because those costs continue to rise, the board considered reverting to a private-staffing model where they could hire a company to provide workers in some positions.

“Our library assistants could move to that staffing model, where they would still have access to health insurance and an option for a 401K, but they would not be the expensive state benefit package that we’re required to offer to staff members,” said Lautzenheiser, who prefers to keep all the employees in the state system.

“We feel like that’s an investment in them, right? For them to have that great retirement and strong health insurance,” Lautzenheiser said. 

Vice Chair Bob Moon asked whether delaying hiring for an open children’s specialist position at Shurling Library could save money.

“Staff would hate me,” Lautzenheiser replied. “This is our busy season, and it’s a children’s specialist. So, I’m going to advocate for them and say we don’t like that idea.”

‘Unwieldy’ budget

Outgoing Chair Ethiel Garlington said he finds the public library budget “unwieldy.”

“When we didn’t get the full commitment that we asked for, $167,000 seems like such a small amount in this giant budget, but clearly it has real ramifications,” Garlington said. “So, for me personally, this is one of those times where I rely heavily on staff expertise, and clearly you all have done your due diligence on these options.”

Finance Officer Pam Clarke builds each budget by allocating funds for the full amount of each employee’s salary and state benefits, which can result in a surplus if workers don’t opt into the insurance plan or when there are vacancies. 

Between 2023 and 2025, the unspent personnel expenses amounted to more than $490,000 that was funneled into materials and maintenance projects. 

Even that surplus revenue has dwindled from $252,440 in 2023 to $80,291 in 2025, and the Fiscal Year 2026 numbers are not yet complete.

The library also is losing revenue now that the Georgia Library Public Information Network for Electronic Services, or PINES, has eliminated most fines except in a permanent loss of materials. 

“This budget, part of the challenge in that is that the PINES system went to auto-renew, which essentially eliminates the fines, which is about $22,000 worth of our revenue. So, that was something that we were eating this year as well,” Lautzenheiser explained.

At the same time, May’s report shows library patronage slipped by nearly a third from 27,671 in 2025 to 18,702 in 2026.

Digging into the numbers, library staff noted Shurling Library had unusually high attendance in May of 2025, and the new Cathy Ivey Library on Forsyth Road is not maintaining the numbers from the Riverside branch off Tom Hill Sr. Boulevard. that closed last July.

“Riverside Library, a lot of their door count was generated by the bus stop that was across the street. People would come in for the heating and cooling, or to get out of the rain and just sit at the library seating, waiting to go back out to the bus stop,” Lautzenheiser explained. “Obviously, they’re not being served at Cathy Ivey Library because they’re not waiting for the bus out in front of it.”

While the board was able to skirt staffing changes this year and maintain financial stability, Garlington has ongoing concerns, especially with the age of some of the branches and expected maintenance on the horizon. 

“I know we talk about this every year,” Garlington said. “Every year going forward it seems like there’s some major expenses, well, and to your point, our expenses stay the same or increase, generally, but our revenue doesn’t have that same kind of trajectory.”

In 2018, Macon-Bibb County funding for libraries and other outside agencies was in jeopardy for weeks until county commissioners approved a tax increase.

Due to rising costs, Mayor Lester Miller called the county’s FY’27 budget the most difficult to balance since his days on the Bibb County School Board and asked departments outside of public safety to cut spending by about 10%.

As Garlington closed out his term as chair, he encouraged board members to boost their advocacy for the library system with public officials throughout the year, not just at budget season. 

Peyton Anderson Civic Journalism Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities and can be reached at fabian_lj@mercer.edu or 478-301-2976. This story comes to The Melody through a partnership with The Macon Newsroom.