MOOSE JAW — Palliser Regional Library (PRL) plans to increase its rural levies in 2025 to support salary increases for librarians, while it expects to use reserves to cover a deficit of nearly $50,000.
The rural base levy for towns or villages without a library will increase by 45 cents — a jump of three per cent — to $15.45 per person next year; for municipalities under 2,000 people will increase by 67 cents cents to $23.17 per person; and for Assiniboia will increase by 90 cents to $30.90 per person.
This levy increase is “not too bad” considering the organization has had higher ones before, PRL director Arwen Rudolph said. For example, it hiked the levy slightly in 2023 because the provincial government provided a higher-than-expected funding grant.
“We’ve asked as high as five per cent before, so three per cent is middle of the road,” she continued. “So, it depends on the year and what’s going on with our salaries and what the provincial government has done with our grants.”
Data shows that PRL had a levy increase of 1.35 per cent this year, 1.4 per cent in 2023, 4.3 per cent in 2022, zero per cent in 2021 and five per cent in 2020.
PRL doesn’t set the levy for Moose Jaw Public Library (MJPL) because the latter sets its own rate. Moose Jaw has not set that number yet because city council hasn’t approved the 2025 budget. Until that happens, Palliser uses Moose Jaw’s 2024 rates for budgetary purposes.
The Palliser Regional Library board approved the three-per-cent levy increase during the organization’s fall meeting on Nov. 2. Board members — comprised of representatives from 74 municipalities in the region, although not everyone attended the meeting — also approved the 2025 budget.
2025 budget
Next year, PRL expects to see revenues of $2,660,769 and expenses of $2,708,990, leaving “a little bit of a deficit” of $48,221 that it will cover with reserves and carryforward amounts, said Rudolph.
PRL’s two main revenue sources are the rural levies and the provincial grant, with the organization budgeting a zero-per-cent increase next year from the latter because the province provided no increase this past spring, which was “tough,” she continued.
“So, we’re hopeful (for a raise) in 2025 — come on!” Rudolph laughed.
PRL’s headquarters depends on the provincial grant to run operations and pay staff there, while 90 per cent of the rural levy supports salaries of branch librarians and 10 per cent supports purchasing physical and digital materials and training staff.
“So, it’s always hard when they don’t give us an increase,” she added.
During the past five years, the amount of funding the provincial government has provided all regional library organizations and the increases have been:
- 2024: $6,260,450 / 0 per cent
- 2023: $6,260,450 / 3 per cent
- 2022: $6,078,000 / 0 per cent
- 2021: $6,078,000 / 0 per cent
- 2020: $6,078,000 / 0.99 per cent
Meanwhile, the funding PRL has received from that amount and increases or decreases has been:
- $727,072 / 0.14 per cent
- $726,053 / 2.97 per cent
- $705,137 / - 0.51 per cent
- $708,753 / 0 per cent
- $708,753 / 0.92 per cent
Furthermore, Palliser Regional Library is waiting for collective bargaining agreement negotiations to begin with the union since the contract ends this year, said Rudolph.
The organization does not know what the final negotiated wage increase will be but knows that “a sizeable” one is coming because cost-of-living expenses have increased significantly, she continued.
For example, assistant branch librarians are the lowest employee class and earn $14.58 per hour, which is below the province’s minimum wage of $15 per hour. Therefore, the organization expects the union to ask more for them.
“We have done our best to accommodate that expected request while still keeping the requested levy increase to a reasonable levy,” said Rudolph.
Meanwhile, PRL pays a membership fee in the Saskatchewan Information and Library Services (SILS) Consortium, which allows regional libraries to share materials throughout the province.
PRL plans to increase its SILS levy to 44 cents next year from 42.5 cents this year. Traditionally, Palliser’s headquarters covers 60 per cent of this levy and Moose Jaw and the rural branches cover 40 per cent.
Rural residents who want to join the PRL board can call .
