Nathan Cobb|The News Herald
PANAMA CITY BEACH— Members of the City Council think Bay County should help fund the Panama City Beach Public Library because it is used by many residents who live outside the city's limits.
However, Bay County officials disagree.
With approval around the corner of the Beach's general fund budget for fiscal year 2023,the City Councildiscussed during multiple meetings in August ways to optimize city spending. This not only includedpossibly cutting the library's funding by about $37,000, but also requesting that Bay County help cover the bill.
"We have no intention of under-serving the community, (but) our hope was that the county would help us offset the cost due to the amount of county residents who use our library," Councilman Michael Jarman said."I don't think it's a matter of making a big deal out of 30 some-odd thousand dollars. It's about everybody contributing proportionately."
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Located off Hutchison Boulevard, the Panama City Beach Public Library is owned by the Beach, and the facility is part of the Northwest Florida Regional Library System.
According to Bob Majka, manager of Bay County, a nonprofit organization formally oversaw the library system.But thatchanged in 2008 when the county took it over and the Bay County Board of County Commissioners became the system'sgoverning board.
At the time, there was a library along the Panama City Marina that Bay County relocated within the city to 898 W 11th St. This became the Bay County Public Library, which is owned and funded by the county.
Breaking down arguments on both sides
In recent PCB City Council meetings, officials have said they think the Beach's library should be partlyfunded by the county for three main reasons: The facility is used by many residents who live in unincorporated Bay County, PCB plans to spend about $160,000 next year to install a new air conditioning system at its library, andPanama City does not pay for the library within its city limits.
While it is true the Panama City government does not directly fund the Bay County Public Library, Majka said the facility is only located within Panama City because it is the county seat— the same reason the Bay County Courthouse also is in Panama City.
"There's no such thing as the Panama City library," he said. "There is a Bay County library branch, and that building happens to be physically located inside the jurisdiction of Panama City."
The Bay County Public Library and the PCB Public Library, along with the Parker Public Library, are part of the Northwest Florida Regional Library System. Both the Parker and PCB libraries are owned by their cities. They also aremanaged by the county, meaning the county provides needed library employees, which have salaries funded by the cities they serve.
Since the county took over the library system in 2008, it has never provided direct funding for any library other than the Bay County Public Library, andMajka said that is not going to change with the Beach.
Instead, Bay would just make necessary cuts at the PCB library to work within the funds provided by the Beach. This could mean tweaking the library's schedule from being open six days a week to five days a week.
Bay County requested the Beach fund $222,000 for the PCB library in fiscal year 2023. This is about $22,000 more than was needed in 2022. The City Council proposed to fund only $185,000.Officials will vote on that alongside the 2023 general fund budget at a meeting on Sept. 8.
Because the PCB library is a part of the Northwest Florida Regional Library System,it receives more than $100,000 a year in state grants that areused to buy things like books, database systems and cataloging programs.
For area residentRon Steensland, who lives in unincorporated Bay County north of Panama City Beach and often uses the PCB library, it would be frustrating for the City Council to not give the facility what it needs just because Bay County decided to not contribute funding to cover non-Beach residents.
Steensland said this is because the Beach's general fund, which pays for the library, is largely funded not by an ad valorem tax on residents, but a 1% business tax on everything purchased within city limits.
Though he might not technically be a Beach resident,Steensland said PCB still feels like his home, and it iswhere he does a lot of spending.
"My wife and I do a lot of shopping over at Pier Park, and we eat out at restaurants on the Beach, and I notice on my bills there's always a 1% tax." he said. "I'm happy to support the library."
Steensland also said hedoes not understand why the Beach would not just paythe remaining $37,000 needed by the library considering its proposed general fund for fiscal year 2023 ismore than $73 million, whichis the largest in the city's history.
Officials have said the budget is inflated by past capital improvement projects that rolled over into 2023. However,PCB did have its busiest year of tourism ever in 2021.
"In a time when Panama City Beach is fairly flush with a (massive)budget, the proposed $37,000 cut makes no sense," Steensland said."The (City Council) seems to believe that the residents in unincorporated Bay County are not paying their fair share, and I question if (officials) have forgotten that more than half of Panama City Beach revenue comes from snowbirds, (other) visitors and those of us who come from outside city limits."
