The State of Montana Library Budget Cuts – Meeting scheduled 6/6 in Helena and Online

It is with a heavy heart that I communicate this information.

As a result of House Bill 2 and Senate Bill 261, the Montana State Library (MSL) faces approximately $1 million in budget cuts.

Thus, MSL must reduce expenditures by at least $990,691. There are two plans being proposed to the Montana State Library Commission to deal with the loss in funding. The first plan addresses the House Bill 2 cuts, which are most immediate and will be put in place by June 30, 2017. The second plan addresses Senate Bill 261 cuts, which will take effect if triggers are met as outlined in the bill. Both plans are outlined in the Montana State Library Commission meeting materials https://mslservices.mt.gov/About_the_Library/Commission_Councils/Commission/comm_MeetingMaterials.aspx While the cuts will impact services to all State Library users, the cuts that most impact the GIS community are:

* A reduction in force by a total of 12 positions, including 10 current staff and 2 vacant positions. This is a total of 4 GIS positions and 1 dedicated programmer. This will reduce MSL staff by approximately 28% total.

* A reduction in funding to the Montana Natural Heritage Program http://mtnhp.org/ contract by 25%.

To be clear, these cuts will directly affect the Montana Spatial Data Infrastructure and the GIS services we provide; however, we will continue to support statutory programs, including Natural Resource Information System (NRIS) http://nris.msl.mt.gov/ , which includes the Montana Natural Heritage Program (MTNHP) http://mtnhp.org/ , the Water Information System (WIS) http://geoinfo.msl.mt.gov/Home/geography/water_information_system , and the Montana Land Information Act (MLIA) http://about.msl.mt.gov/commission_councils/montana_land_information_advisory_council.aspx .

You are encouraged to review the proposed plans http://docs.msl.mt.gov/Central_Services/Commission_Councils/Commission/Archive/2017/06/20170606_budgetreductionplansmemo.pdf and give public comment at the next Commission meeting, which will be held on Tuesday, June 6 at 2p.m. at the Montana State Library. Please tell the Commission what our services mean to you. Members of the public who wish to join the virtual meeting should contact Marlys Stark at 406-444- 3384 by 5 p.m. on Monday, June 5, 2017. Meeting materials can be found on the MSL Commission website https://mslservices.mt.gov/About_the_Library/Commission_Councils/Commission/comm_MeetingMaterials.aspx .

Thank you to those who have reached out to offer support. We are motivated to rebuild and reprioritize. In spite of the loss, we remain committed to offering reliable GIS services and will continue our leadership to ensure consistent collection, accurate maintenance, and dissemination of land, water, and natural resource information.

Thank you,

Erin

Erin Fashoway
State GIS Coordinator | Montana State Library
406-444-9013 | [email protected]