Macon commissioners voted to notify the Fontana Regional Library System of the county’s withdrawal.
While the item wasn’t included in the agenda for the June 9 meeting that went out to the public, it was added near the beginning of the meeting on a motion by Commissioner Barry Breeden, who spearheaded the withdrawal discussion.
FRL was first discussed during the conversation ahead of the vote for the upcoming fiscal year’s budget. County Manager Warren Cabe mentioned that while FRL had requested about $1.62 million, he included about $1.25 million in the budget. The gap, Cabe said, essentially represents the funding requested to cover the financial hole left by Jackson County’s withdrawal from the system, which left just Macon and Swain remaining. Because the FRL trustees will soon vote on a reimbursement of “surplus funds” to the member counties, that gap could be made up from the over $500,000 Macon is slated to receive.
The board approved the budget as proposed, but not before Breeden broached the topic of withdrawal. He began with reticence, asking if it’s worth staying in FRL with Jackson County leaving. Jackson County commissioners voted last year to give notice of their pending withdrawal, which will be effective come July 1.
Commissioner John Shearl, known for pushing the county to minimize its tax burden on property owners in almost every debate, echoed Breeden’s question and pondered whether the county could do the same job as FRL cheaper — and with entirely local control.
“Are we capable of operating the library and offering the same services as FRL?” he asked. “What’s so special about FRL other than it’s a three-county [system]?”
“We have some very intelligent people in Macon County that can certainly run this library system,” he added.
As the conversation spun up into a full exploration of the issue, Commission Chair Josh Young steered the board back on track and called for the budget vote. Following passage of the budget, commissioners heard public comment. Most had to do with county libraries, but not the potential withdrawal. Also on the agenda was the appointment of three county library board members, and that is what most people were prepared to discuss.
John deVille touched briefly on the potential withdrawal. A prior comment from Macon GOP Chair Patti Trick likened the sweeping library system changes to remodeling a living room. It started with wanting to change one thing — the carpet, in Trick’s analogy — and revealed other things that needed addressing, which she likened to floor joists under the carpet. DeVille said what he’s seen doesn’t feel like a “renovation.”
“For the last four years, it has felt more like a demolition,” he said.
Heather Johnson asked the board to consider what happens when the library is entirely under their “umbrella.”
“It makes it to where the library doesn’t have an independent governing body,” Johnson told commissioners. “It makes it to where it has politicians governing what is made policy in that library.”
When the board resumed its discussion, Breeden spoke with greater focus.
“It does not make sense to stay in the FRL and pay hundreds of thousands more dollars. I don’t see a benefit in what that would be,” he said.
In order to withdraw from the library system at the start of the next fiscal year in July 2027, the board would have to vote to provide its notice of withdrawal to FRL by the end of this month, which gave the discussion a sense of urgency.
“It would behoove us to at least start the process of pulling out of the FRL,” Breeden said.
Commissioners seemed to agree that there was ample financial concern for the county due to the increased costs anticipated ahead of Jackson’s withdrawal. They approved a motion Breeden proposed to provide FRL with its notice of withdrawal, 4-1, with Commissioner Gary Shields dissenting on the grounds that he would like to see more information on the matter.
With the uncertainty around the future of the three libraries in the county, the board also decided to postpone the vote to appoint new Macon County Public Library Board members. With six members left, that board can still achieve a quorum for its next meeting in August.
The vote to provide a notice of withdrawal doesn’t lock the county into any decisions on the matter, meaning there’s a year for further discussion. Cabe said commissioners and county staff can begin exploring the process and ramifications of withdrawing. While Jackson County paid consultants to inform their withdrawal process, Cabe said he’d prefer to save that money by relying on current library staff to provide expert opinions and guidance.
“I’m not a big fan of using a contractor because a lot of times they give you the information you give them in a different format to make them feel better about that information,” Cabe said. “I think you’ve got some qualified people. I don’t know that anybody out here, no matter which side of the aisle you’re on, would disagree that there’s some qualified people on all sides of the issue that can help you get to that point.”
Should Macon County withdraw from FRL, it would lead to the dissolution of the almost century-old institution.
Check the June 17 edition of the Smoky Mountain News for more reporting on Macon County’s vote to provide a notice of withdrawal to the Fontana Regional Library System, as well as FRL’s upcoming vote on a new collection development policy and Jackson County’s June 12 library board meeting.