1. The local news has presented a controversial societal issue (banning of certain library books), and claimed that Marathon County Supervisors made budgetary decisions based upon this issue. We understand that societal issues are the domain of the state legislature and not that of the Marathon County Board. Please discuss how you would address citizens who feel that county board members should consider societal issues when faced with making a decision such as library funding decisions made by the County Board.
Answer
Book Banning
I don’t believe that County Government should ban books or censure free speech. I also don’t believe that the state government or federal government should ban books or censure free speech.
I am a strong proponent of protecting our Constitutional Rights and took an oath to uphold and defend those rights. I did not attempt to ban any books or call for any books to be banned, despite what some may have written in the news or social media.
I issued a challenge on November 23, 2023 for anyone to provide evidence that I had attempted to ban books or proposed banning books. No one has come forward with any evidence.
Wisconsin State Statutes 948.11 prohibits “Exposing a child to harmful material or harmful descriptions or narrations.” and exempts Libraries from prosecution under this Statute. In my opinion, this is a separate issue from banning books. I would think that most individuals would agree that children should not be exposed to harmful material, but many would disagree on what materials are harmful.
This is obviously a contentious issue in Marathon County, with nearly 1000 residents signing each of 2 opposing separate petitions during the last 12 months.
Library Funding
Several County Board Supervisors mentioned linking Library Funding to Library Board decisions about books during the fall of 2022 for the 2023 budget. I thought that this was a mistake and mentioned this to several Supervisors. I am not aware of any comments made in this regard during the preparation of the 2024 budget.
In my opinion, the level of Library funding should not be contingent upon decisions made by the Library Board regarding which books are in the Library, although the Library’s own training material discusses this possibility (see below).
I don’t believe that I made any statements during the 2023 or 2024 budget discussions suggesting or stating that the level of library funding should be tied to decisions regarding the selection of books for the Library. The following video provides a statement from the Corporation Counsel that my 2024 Library budget proposal appeared to be based only on financial considerations.
I was obviously involved with the budget discussions relating to the 2024 Library Tax Levy. This topic is discussed in more depth in Question 11 and elsewhere on this website in previous blog posts.
Societal Issues
The term “Societal Issues” is too broad and undefined for me to feel comfortable providing any comments relating to societal issues as a whole.
In my understanding, the County Board’s responsibilities regarding the Library (under our current Library Structure) is a) approving or amending the Library Tax Levy proposed by the County Administrator, and b) confirming or not confirming the County Administrator’s proposed appointments to the Library Board.
The County Board does not determine or set the Library Budget, but does have a say on approving the funding level of the Library Tax Levy. Once the Library Tax Levy is set, the Library Board has full control over the levied funds and the County Board and County Government has no further authority over the use of the funds.
As mentioned above, I personally don’t think it is appropriate for the County Board to adjust the tax levy based on the Library Board’s decisions on books. However, I do think it is appropriate for the County Board to make decisions on confirming appointments to the Library Board based on the individual Library Board Member’s decisions and on their interactions with the residents of Marathon County.
Marathon County residents do not get to vote on the selection of the County Administrator or the Library Board members. County Board Supervisors are elected officials and are accountable to their constituents.
From MCPL Trustee Essentials Training Documents
