City of Lanesboro’s library ordinances, explained

Over the weekend, ABC 6 News spoke with a member of the Harmony library with concerns about the City of Lanesboro’s new ordinance concerning the public library.

The city council’s Dec. 2 agenda does not list discussion of the library ordinance.

ABC 6 News is reworking this article to better explain the ordinance and possible effects, and apologizes for any confusion or inaccuracies.

(ABC 6 News) – The Lanesboro Public Library is at a crossroads, as it could soon be taken over by the city.

The issue dates back to late summer 2024, when the Lanesboro City Council began to consider an ordinance that would put the Lanesboro mayor and city council in charge of appointing library board members.

An October version of another ordinance also put the City Council and board directly in charge of library funding.

“For the purpose of carrying out the powers, duties, and responsibilities of the library, there shall be established a Library Fund,” the October draft read. “All money received for the library shall be paid to the City treasury, credited to the library fund, kept separate from other money of the City, and paid out only upon approval by the board or City Council. The City Council may transfer to the library fund the money it deems necessary for public library purposes.”

The City Council later struck “or City Council” from the second-to-last sentence of the above, but agreed to move all public library funds out of separate accounts and into the city treasury.

Some are worried about the potential changes.

Harmony volunteer librarian Megan Rutter said she’s concerned about the wording of the ordinances, compared to state statutes.

“It states that libraries in the state of Minnesota that are in a statutory city that is a city that is required to follow state statute which Lanesboro is, has to have a governing board so they self-govern,” Harmony volunteer librarian Megan Rutter said.

MN State Statute 134.09 on library boards states the following:

“When public library service is established, except in any city of the first class operating under a home rule charter, the mayor of the city with the approval of the council for a city library or the board of commissioners for a county library, shall appoint a board of five, seven or nine members from among the residents of the city or county. If the city library is a branch or a member of a regional public library system, as defined in section 134.001, the mayor, with the approval of the city council, may appoint to the city library board, residents of the county, provided that the county is participating in the regional public library system and that the majority of the members of the city library board are residents of the city. The number of members on the board shall be determined by resolution or ordinance adopted by the council or the board of commissioners. Not more than one council member or county commissioner shall at any time be a member of the library board. The appointments shall be made before the first meeting of the library board after the end of the fiscal year.”

Rutter also expressed concern over the potential creation of an advisory board. However, according to a draft of the Nov. 19 council meeting minutes, the city council already struck the term “advisory” from the ordinances.

Still, there are some uncertainties related to what the city would do if they gained control of the library.

“When you get people who think they have power, they can then say we don’t like this particular author or this kind of book,” Rutter added.

A November city council meeting packet listed the following concerns about the current library governance:

“Concerns included misconduct around interference with the city’s grievance process, unapproved staffing and payroll issues, removal of an employee evaluation, obstructing public access to data, unprofessional behavior and gossip, misleading community claims, library director’s remote work and lack of oversight.”

The latest changes to the ordinances are detailed in the drafted, not-formally-approved meeting minutes from Nov. 19: 2024-11-19 Special City Council Meeting Minutes.docx