Two staff positions are being affected because of the shortfall in the Keremeos Library budget.
The Keremeos Review incorrectly reported last week that staffing hours would remain the same despite local government officials only coming up with just over $16,000 in contingency funding to help the library.
Funding in excess of $25,000 needed to come from local and regional governments to keep staffing hours the same.
Stephanie Hall, executive director for the Okanagan Regional Library board said there are currently three staffing positions at the library.
The community librarian works 26.5 hours per week and that position will remain the same.
However the other two positions will see a reduction in hours with one permanent staff working 17.5 hours per week and the third staffing position moving to a temporary position of four hours per week that is only guaranteed until the end of 2017.
“This position cannot be renewed if no funding can be found,” Hall stated in her email.
There will be additional shifts in the summer to handle the increase in traffic, which will be funded through the additional funding and the existing pool of summer hours that the ORL uses.
The ORL presented three funding options at a public meeting in 2015. The first option would continue staffing at the library at the same level and add four hours for a high school student to be hired, the second option at close to $25,000 would continue hours but not hire the high school student, and the third option of just over $16,000 would mean hours open remained the same but that staffing would only be 53.5 hours not 60 hours.
“The impact of this will be felt in a few ways - staff will be very busy coping with an already full workload, and there will be less capacity for some partnerships, programs and outreach,” Hall sated in the email.
If some other form of funding is not secured by the end of 2017 the library will only be open four days a week in 2018.
For this year the directors George Bush and Elef Christensen from the Regional District Okanagan Similkameen and the village of Keremeos has agreed to fund the library using contingency funds.
Headed into the end of 2016 the plan was to fund the library $24,500 through an additional line on RDOS taxes. The tax requisition failed during the alternative approval process with just over the required 10 per cent of negative responses received.
Christensen lobbied against the tax requisition by sending out mail outs to residents in his area suggesting Hedley shouldn’t pay for a Keremeos library. The mail outs also included incorrect information.
Because of legislative reasons a referendum could not be called as the Area G alternative Roger Mayer voted against.
Keremeos Mayor Manfred Bauer and Area B director George Bush have committed to talking to the province to change the funding formula for rural libraries.