The Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL) board of trustees has adopted the 2022 – 2026 Financial Plan: Retooled, Revived, Ready! .
At the Sept. 25 meeting, the board adopted a balanced budget of $31,274,714 for 2022. Municipal and regional levies will contribute $25,440,431 to the library budget, an average increase of 3.84% over 2021.
Since the board approved a one-year hiatus on all new capital projects for 2022, the total budget decreased from $39 million in 2021.
The budget was supported by all trustees in attendance.
“The 2022 budget acknowledges the persistence of the global COVID-19 pandemic and also reflects VIRL’s remarkable ability to adapt our services in support of our communities during this challenging period,” said Joel Adams, VIRL’s director of finance. “By taking the long view and by recognizing the important role our libraries can play in helping our communities recover, our board of trustees is signaling their confidence in our staff, our services, and our ability to innovate and evolve.”
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In adopting the 2022 budget, the board has agreed to a one-year hiatus on all new capital projects in 2022. This comes on the heels of skyrocketing construction and material costs as a result of the pandemic, and provides VIRL an opportunity to reevaluate capital priorities as costs begin to rebound.
Some projects will continue in 2022 because the projects were well underway at the time the hiatus was enacted. For information on VIRL’s Capital Projects, visit the Capital Projects page.
“If 2020 showed the board anything, it’s that VIRL has the resilience and responsiveness to rise above the challenges of the pandemic,” said Gaby Wickstrom, chair of the VIRL board of trustees. “From ongoing pandemic recovery to furthering true and meaningful reconciliation, serving marginalized community members to ensuring families have spaces to interact, this budget reflects the board’s commitment to library services on Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, and the Central Coast.”
For more information about the 2022– 2026 Financial Plan, visit www.virl.bc.ca/about/reports-and-plans/.
– NEWS Staff, submitted