Over the last decade, 18 libraries in Wayne County have been shorted as much as $1.9 million, while 11 saw an influx in cash, all because of staff turnover at the county level and subsequent accounting errors.
The money at issue flows through the state and comes from penal fines, which are paid to courts in criminal and some civil violations, including most traffic fines. County treasurers collect and distribute the fines to libraries. This funding for libraries is baked into state law and it can account for anywhere between 3% to 70% of public libraries’ annual budgets, according to the Library of Michigan.
Wayne County lost the employee who calculated penal fines and the county did not replace that position, according to a report the Library of Michigan prepared for public library directors and boards.
Staff who took on the job did not have the proper training and already had other tasks, the report said, noting that they were “stretched thin.” The report, and accompanying corrected penal fine calculations, were prepared by the Library of Michigan in consultation with the county treasurer’s office.
Of 29 Wayne County public libraries eligible for penal fines, 11 received more and 18 got less than they should have, according to Library of Michigan calculations. Libraries were underpaid anywhere from about $18,000, in the case of Wayne Public Library, to more than $1.9 million for Detroit Public Library. Romulus Public Library received about $1.4 million more than it should have, while Ecorse Public Library got an additional $26,700 or so. In all, it appears libraries were underpaid about $3.6 million in total, according to a spreadsheet from the Library of Michigan.
Now libraries are figuring out what to do next.
What the Wayne County treasurer’s office has to say
Wayne County bears the most responsibility for the miscalculation, according to the report. The Library of Michigan said it didn’t find evidence of intentional or criminal behavior. The Library of Michigan said in its report that the “situation seems clearly the result of negligence, poor communication, failure to replace departed employees, and lack of proper training.”
In a statement to the Free Press last week, the Wayne County Treasurer’s Office acknowledged “an ongoing miscalculation of the formula for disbursing penal fines that rests with our office.”
“Once we determined the error, our office contacted the State Library to assist with a solution. By law, the Treasurer’s office has the authority to immediately withhold funds from any future penal fines payments from those overpaid libraries and to transfer those funds to the underpaid libraries. This would substantially shorten the time for repayment and recoupment. However, we are actively working with all parties to explore other solutions to mitigate any potential budgetary issues this option could create,” the county treasurer’s office said in its statement.
County treasurers collect and distribute penal fines to a list of eligible libraries, provided by the Library of Michigan. Each county has its own process for doling out penal fines.
What Wayne County libraries have to say
Public library boards and commissions across Wayne County have been discussing the issue and are determining their next steps.
- Northville District Library was underpaid $88,368, according to a spreadsheet provided to Wayne County libraries by the Library of Michigan, said Laura Mancini, director of Northville District Library. The library’s board of trustees in collecting more information to determine next steps, Mancini said in an email.
- Grosse Pointe Public Library — estimated to have been underpaid $139,627 — is working with its attorney and other libraries to resolve the issue, according to director Jessica Keyser.
- Redford Township District Library director Garrett Hungerford said the library board “is committed to recovering the funds owed to the library in the most effective and efficient manner.” Redford Township District was underpaid $97,541.
- The Library of Michigan found that the Livonia Public Library was overpaid $228,493. Kristen Edson, library director of Livonia Public Library, said her library would work with other area libraries to come up with a “fair and equitable resolution.”
- Mary Jo Suchy, director of Belleville Area District Library, said the library board is interested in a settlement solution with other libraries and Wayne County. Belleville Area District Library was overpaid $139,087.
What’s next
The Library of Michigan, part of the Michigan Department of Education, learned of the issue involving Wayne County public libraries and had asked the institutions if they’d like to find an “amicable resolution” with other libraries and the Wayne County Treasurer, according to a letter provided to the Free Press, signed by state librarian Randy Riley.
“Having made all the information in its possession relating to the Wayne County penal fine distribution public and having advised the recipients of this letter that Wayne County Public Libraries are interested in further discussions, the Library of Michigan will take no additional action relating to this matter,” Riley said in the Feb. 5 letter, directing libraries to consult an attorney and reach out to the Wayne County Treasurer’s Office.
The Michigan Dept. of Education referred questions about next steps to the Wayne County libraries and directed a reporter to a Library of Michigan webpage, regarding clarification on its overview report and calculations of overpaid and underpaid libraries. Library directors indicated they want to work together to fix the issue.
“The public libraries in Wayne County have a long history of working cooperatively with each other, and I am confident that we can arrive at a solution,” Suchy said in an email last week.
Contact Nushrat Rahman: nrahman@freepress.com.
Sounds like incompetence.
Is moderation like censorship?