State Aid and the Library of Michigan Budget

October 23, 2019

The Governor and the state legislature kept us in suspense about the state budget right down to the deadline – with all being finally adopted on October 1, 2019.  We all breathed a sigh of relief that state aid for libraries and the Library of Michigan budget were generally status quo from the year prior. In a tumultuous environment and budget cycle like FY20, we are thankful that state aid was not touched. Members…rest assured that MLA was watching carefully and ready to react in an instant if anything would have affected the state aid that libraries rely on.  Long-held relationships and daily dialog with leaders in the House and Senate went a long way in protecting these funds. 

We are thankful for the constant input from MLA’s lobby firm GCSI as the budget became a reality.  Here is how the FY20 budget shook out for libraries:

State Aid to Libraries

2019:  $12,067,700
2020: $12,067,700
no change in funding

Library of Michigan Operations

2019:  $4,900,200
2020:  $4,958,800
$58,600 increase (2% raise for all Library of Michigan staff)

Library Services and Technology Program

2019:  $5,611,400
2020:  $5,612,600
$1,200 increase

Michigan eLibrary

2019:  $1,757,900
2020:  $1,761,700
$3,800 increase