Interim Library Director Addresses Questions About Finances, MOA With County

As I start my new role as Interim Director at Samuels Library, I would like to thank everyone who has reached out with kind words of encouragement and support. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the many contributions made by Michelle Ross during the last three-plus years. Her professionalism, creativity, knowledge, and kindness will be greatly missed by staff and patrons alike at Samuels Library.

In the last week, there has been a lot of chatter about Samuels Library’s finances and a Memorandum Of Agreement (MOA). I feel the need to clarify the situation for the citizens of Warren County.

Let me begin by providing some historical perspective. The current Library building on Criser Road opened its doors to the public in June 2009. Prior to the start of construction, Warren County set aside funds over several years for the construction project. Construction began in 2008, and the project was completed in 2009 – under budget and with no debt service payments required.

During the next several years, Library traffic and programming continued to grow. In 2017, the Warren County Board of Supervisors formed an Ad Hoc Committee to determine whether or not there was a more cost-effective way to provide public library services to the residents of Warren County. The Ad Hoc Committee consisted of Warren County elected officials and staff members and members of the Samuels Library Board of Trustees and staff.

This process lasted several months, and all options were extensively reviewed, and the clear, cost-effective conclusion was that the library’s operations should remain unchanged. Within that framework, an MOA was established with a three-year duration which outlined increases for each year: Year 1, 0 percent, Year 2, 1 percent, and Year 3, 2 percent.

When the MOA terms expired, the County and Library went back to the normal budgeting operation. Each year the library submits an Outside Agency Funding Request with appropriate documentation, then the library meets with the County to answer any questions about the request, and the County determines the funding amount which the library will receive.

The library is a not-for-profit corporation that holds 501(c)3 status with the IRS. As such, we are able to raise money through mail campaigns, fundraising events, grants, and a variety of other avenues. Fortunately, we have been very successful in this regard, and the Warren County community has been very generous.

The library also possesses two bank accounts – one which we call the Operating Account and one which is called the Reserve Account. Additionally, we have an Investment Account which includes donations, endowments, and reserved funds such as those received from the public for the proposed Amphitheatre Project. All funds from Warren County are deposited only into the Operating Account, where they reside until spent.

Any expenditures which fall outside of the approved and funded Operating Account are paid for utilizing fundraised money – this includes any new furnishings, technology equipment, attorney fees, etc. Just this past year, the library improved the children’s department with a new and expanded Reference Desk and a newly remodeled Young Adult section. The changes made by the Library utilized fundraised money only. For fiscal year 2024, in order to balance the Library budget, we will need to transfer in excess of $75,000 from the Investment Account.

Each year the library is audited, as required by the Commonwealth, and for the 21 years I have been with the library, the audit has always given us an exemplary finding.

As we continue our current budget discussions with the County, the topic of an MOA has resurfaced. The Library staff and trustees welcome this discussion, and we are working in a spirit of collaboration with the County. We hope to have progress to report soon. As always, we want to work in a financially efficient and transparent manner so that Warren County taxpayers and the thousands of individuals who benefit from the services we provide at Samuels Library can be proud of what we are doing.

There is important work to be done in the weeks and months ahead. I am committed to Samuels Library and the Front Royal community, and I pledge to use my years of experience to give this position my full attention. I am extremely honored to serve in this role and will make every effort to carry out the library’s mission of bringing people, information, and ideas together to enrich lives and build our community.

Eileen Grady
Interim Director
Samuels Public Library