By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
The Great Bend Public Library requested a $20,000 increase in their 2026 budget request from the City of Great Bend. After last Monday’s work session, the Great Bend City Council found a way to keep the library’s budget the same but save them $10,000.
City Clerk Shawna Schafer said the library has been paying for their audits recently, costing them approximately $10,000 per year.
"We took them off because one year the library didn't get all of their stuff," said Schafer. "Our audit was delayed until August. Since then, they have had three clean audits. The library was wanting to hop back on our audits. I asked our auditor, Sean Gordon, what his thoughts were. He said he would do the audit combined or separate from us."
The library asked for $670,000 in the 2026 budget, but the City Council was in favor of leaving their funding the same at $650,000 and combining the library’s audit with the city’s annual audit.
Because of a unique state grant, the library’s city funding cannot go down.
"The reason why is because the library qualifies for a state library grant," said Schafer. "For whatever reason, the statute is we have to levy the same amount of tax dollars as the prior year or more. It can't ever go down."
A budget work session is scheduled for July 14 as city administration and the council continue to work on the budget.