Library agreement on borrowed time amid likely review

LIBRARY services across central Victoria could be reviewed by councils during a two-year interim funding agreement.

Loddon Shire councillors on Tuesday endorsed a recommendation to sign the new 12-month agreement with another one-year option.

Chief executive officer Lincoln Fitzgerald told councillors: “The service and funding agreement currently in place, expires on June 30, 2023 and a new agreement is proposed that simply provides for the existing conditions of the service and funding arrangements to be maintained for a 12-month period with an option to roll this over for a further 12 months, pending any decisions by member councils regarding a new library service delivery model.

“This approach is proposed to provide flexibility for council members undertaking any service review or due diligence in considering the requirements of the Local Government Act 2020, to wind up regional library corporations by 2030 and provide a new way of delivering library services by either directly providing them through an “in-house” council service, or through a beneficial enterprise.

“It may be that no decision on a new service delivery approach is reached by June 30, 2025, which would result in a new agreement for a further time period, given councils have until 2030 to finalise a new approach to services,” Mr Fitzgerald told councillors.

Loddon Shire is part of Goldfield Library Corporation that has libraries and agencies at Boort, Dingee, Inglewood, Pyramid Hill, Tarnagulla and Wedderburn.

The corporation was formed in 1996 and also includes City of Greater Bendigo, Macedon Ranges and Mount Alexander Shire Councils.

Loddon’s 2022-2023 budget had an allocation for library services of $221,288.

Tuesday’s council meeting, chaired by Cr Wendy Murphy in the absence of Mayor Dan Straub who was in Canberra on council business, did not discuss the recommendation.