Cache County Library Funding Status

What's Going On With the Funding?

Short Version

The County Library faces probable closure in December of 2026 due to budget priorities of the current County Executive and Council. Providence City will hold an official, non-binding vote on the November 3rd election ballot determining if the residents will consider raising property taxes in order to fund and adopt the library for the city. There is no alternative plan unless the County changes course to include the library in the budget for 2027.

Long Version

What Happened?

In October 2025, citing debt issues and a claim of double taxation, County Executive George Daines proposed a county budget for 2026 which eliminated the library and other community services. The library funding of $250,000 (representing less than 2% of the county budget) would be absorbed back into the county budget with no plans of replacement of library services for the 30,000 residents without city libraries. The Executive offered to sell the library collection to any organization willing to take it over for $1. The building used for the library is owned by Providence City and has been rented out to Cache County for its duration as a library.

Public Response

This plan generated a wave of public input that overwhelmingly expressed opposition to defunding the library through public comment and hundreds of letters to the council. In November, because of public attention, the County Council voted to adopt the potential budget but decided to prolong the decision of the library funding while cutting half of the library's funding for 2026. The current Library Board was given six months to find alternative funding.

Library Board Response

Early in 2026, Executive Daines replaced the previous Library Board with new members consisting of city mayors and other library directors. He directed them to consider specific alternative financial paths involving city adoption of the library and would not consider petitioning the council for further funding. Discussions of public meetings were focused on establishing the basic logistics for operating a library and determining funding costs of a smaller library with no clear decisions ever made.

When the board requested more time to make plans, the Executive offered to stretch the remaining quarter of the library budget to last until November 2026. In mid April, the board was unable to create an alternative plan and cancelled subsequent meetings. This has resulted in dramatic budget cuts for library staffing positions, hours open, materials purchased, and programming available.

What Next?

The County Council and Executive have until the end of 2026 to give their final, public decision regarding the funding of the library. This library has been functioning in various forms and locations since 1906, for 120 years. If the County continues on its path of abdicating responsibility for providing library services, 30,000 residents in the county will be left without library services.

Providence City Non-Binding Vote on Adopting the County Library

Since January, the Providence City Manager, Mayor, and Council have seriously considered the needs of the residents and the possibility of adopting the library. A plan was presented to create a new levy tax which would fully and permanently fund the library for the city at its original county budget level of $250,000. Other city leaders did not express interest in the invitations to join the effort.

Survey results for Providence indicated positive interest, and Providence City Council voted to create a non-binding question on the November 2026 election ballot to poll residents. This would allow the city council to create the new levy tax on properties and adopt the library beginning in the new fiscal year of July 2027. Question #1 on the November ballots being sent out October 13th to Providence City residents will read:

"As the County Library is closing, should Providence City consider imposing a new property tax levy to fund a city public library and all related library services, which is estimated to cost the owner of a primary residence with a fair market value of $500,000 approximately $55.30 per year? (yes/no)"

Six-Month Funding Gap

Even if Providence City successfully creates the new tax, that money would not be available until July 2027, when the new fiscal year for the city begins. Because the County fiscal year begins in January 2027, choosing to fully cut funding in December would still require the library to close for six months without funding for staff and materials. This is concerning since the employment of the Library Director and part-time staff would also be cut for six months. This funding gap further puts the library at risk of losing staff with their significant knowledge of the collection and patrons of this community.

What Are the Friends of Cache County Library?

It all began last October 2025, after hearing news that the library was in serious danger of being defunded. In December, after months of gathering information, it became clear there was no organized group ready to advocate for the library. We realized that it was up to us, a small group of volunteers, to begin a Friends group for the Library. The concept of a Friends group is a widely used non-profit organization created by many communities to support and grow public libraries. We all found our way to the team by showing up to meetings and saying yes to invitations to help. See our About page for more information.

We recognize that our organization has a limited life-span based on the future funding of the library. In the possible event that the library closes, we would transition to helping the Library Director with the large and urgent task of closing down. If Providence City adopts the library, we plan to transition to a new name, potentially known as Friends of Providence Library, and continue our efforts. Any funds, memberships, or partnerships would be directed towards supporting the new library. In the event that the library closes, all funds collected would be donated to support other library services still available in Cache County.

How Can I Help the Library?

Express your support by:

• Visit and use the library materials.
• Donate to our fundraising efforts through the Givebutter platform. Every donation goes directly to fill the needs of the library.
• Be a Friend to the library by joining the Friends with an annual membership.
• Sign up to help campaign for Providence City through our Google Survey.
• Contact your elected reps at the county level.

How Do I Find Out More Information?

We will keep posting updates and information here and on social media.

• Follow along on social media: Instagram and Facebook
• Send an email to [email protected]

Have thoughts and questions for your elected representatives at the county or city?

Your questions and input are important.

• Visit Cachecounty.gov to find your area rep and contact information.
• Visit your city website to find emails and contact info for your area.