Beltrami Co. Board Votes to Cut Library, Community Service Funding by 42%

Tensions were high during Tuesday’s Beltrami County Board meeting as they voted on and approved a 2026 preliminary budget that included a 42% cut to community service programs.

Residents packed the county board room, ready to voice their concerns over proposed funding cuts to Paul Bunyan Transit, the Beltrami County Historical Society, and the Bemidji and Blackduck libraries. But District 1 Commissioner and board chair Craig Gassvig opened the meeting by saying the public would not be able to speak on those topics.

“We only allow citizens to address the board on items that are not on the agenda,” he said. “So anything relating to the budget, including the library and other items that are on the budget, will not be allowed to speak to those tonight.”

Residents then began rushing to the podium, feeling as if their voices were being silenced. Gaasvig eventually opened the meeting for public comment after admitting the ruling for citizens not to address the board with items on the agenda is not actually a written policy.

“It is not even actually statutorily required for us to allow that; it is entirely up to the board chair’s discretion,” said Gaasvig.

Beltrami County Administrator Tom Barry explained before the meeting took place that the county contributes significantly more funds than any other county in the Kitchigami Regional Library System.

“We do have the highest proportionate percentage-based amount of funds that goes to KRLS above any other organization,” says Barry. “I’m not saying that’s good or bad. That’s just the decision that the county has made. It was recommended this year to contribute at the state minimum mandate level.”

If the proposed 2026 budget is passed, funding for the Bemidji and Blackduck libraries would go down by 42%.

“I am here to ask you, what I should do if I have to fire 40% of my employees?” said Sheri Warren, branch manager for the Bemidji Public Library. Commissioner Gaasvig responded by asking if volunteers could be used in place of employees.

“There is a state statute that says that volunteers cannot be used with private information, as such, that is recorded in library databases,” Warren continued.

Barry explained that the reasoning behind the majority of these cuts falls under the principle of focusing on services that serve Beltrami County’s mission first, which he said are Health & Human Services, Highway and Traffic, and Public Safety. He stated that Paul Bunyan Transit has actually been operating fine without receiving any funding from the county for the last few years.

“Paul Bunyan Transit never requested the funds, except for one year as a contribution for two buses,” said Barry. “That was in 2020 for $14,360. Otherwise, they’ve not invoiced us for those funds, and so they haven’t received those funds, so they’ve been operating without those funds for all of those years.”

Some residents argued that community service programs like Paul Bunyan Transit, which the county is cutting all of its allocated funding for, are essential services, not luxuries.

“I work with people who can’t drive for a number of reasons and rely on it for medical appointments, work, groceries, community life,” said Shannon Murray, founder of Lead for Inclusion. “In my work, 100% of the people who can’t drive to work have serious barriers to getting to work.”

District 2 Commissioner Joe Gould was the only board member who fought for zero cuts to those community programs. He argued that the money is there, and that the county just needs to find ways to fund them.

“As an option, we could take $205,000 from the $700,000 contingency fund, or we could take it from reserves or ARPA [American Rescue Plan Act] or the LSMA fund, or a combination of [those],” offered Gould. “That’s peanuts in the over $100 million county budget, but it’s significant dollars for them.”

Gould motioned to table to vote for a later meeting, but that motion failed. District 4 Commissioner Tim Sumner motioned to increase the levy to help fund those community programs, which also failed.

Ultimately, the board voted to set the preliminary budget for 2026 with a levy increase of 9.6%, which passed 4-1. Gould was the lone “no” vote.

A preliminary budget hearing will be held on December 2 to finalize next year’s budget for the county. While the overall levy cannot be increased at that meeting, funding increases and decreases can still happen until the budget is finalized for adoption.