The Boulder Public Library District will hold a public hearing next month on the district’s recommended 2025 budget of nearly $27.2 million.

Next year’s recommended budget includes about $14.6 million in personnel costs, an increase of nearly $2.1 million from 2024. It also includes $4.8 million in spending on investment projects. On the revenue side, nearly 80 percent of the Library District’s funding is expected to come from approximately $21.4 million in property tax revenue. The district also plans to defer about $5 million in revenue for next year.

District officials needed to bolster their staff this year by hiring new team members in security, finance, human resources, facilities and information technology, said library district Director David Farnan. Some library buildings also require maintenance. But overall, he said, the library district is growing and is “in good shape.”

In 2025, the library district also plans to open a new library location in Gunbarrel. If all goes as planned, the Gunbarrel branch could be open by next summer, according to Farnan. He expects construction to take three to four months after the district receives permits from the city.

“It’s not a major renovation, but it’s a change,” he said. “(The building is) going from being a bank to being a library, and so there are changes, walls falling down, electrical work and stuff like that. So it’s going to be super exciting.

If the Gunbarrel agency opens around June, its opening will take place a year later Grand Opening of NoBo Library Branchan accomplishment that took many years to achieve. Farnan also said the library district plans to expand its literacy and outreach programs for adults and children in 2025.

A public hearing on the Library District’s 2025 budget will be held Nov. 19 at 6 p.m. in the Canyon Meeting Room at the Main Library, 1001 Arapahoe Ave. Community members can attend the hearing and provide feedback on the budget, which is available online. has boulderlibrary.org/about/board.

2025 will mark the library district’s second full year of operation. 2022 voters approved a measure to repeal Boulder municipal control of the library system and create a new library district funded by property taxes. The district was officially established in 2023 and opened earlier this year. It now includes Boulder as well as parts of unincorporated Boulder County, such as Gunbarrel, Gold Hill and Eldorado Springs.

At first glance, the library district’s budget for 2025 appears much lower than planned A 2024 budget of nearly $39 million. As part of the transition to the new district, in 2023, the city took over the expenses of the library district, but the district began collecting property tax revenue. The district agreed to reimburse the city just over $12 million for those expenses.

The library district has repaid half of that money and plans to pay the rest by December of this year.

Originally published: October 28, 2024 at 3:37 p.m. MDT