Background Information
Wisconsin Chapter 43.12 requires that counties reimburse public libraries in adjacent counties for serving residents who live in areas of the county without public library service. Counties were first required to reimburse libraries in adjacent counties starting in 2008.
To help facilitate this annual reimbursement process, SCLS conducts the actual "billing" of adjacent counties on behalf of interested member libraries. Using annual report data from the previous year, SCLS prepares documentation outlining what each library can request from adjacent counties, then asks libraries for signed permission to submit bills on thier behalf. July 1 of each year is the deadline to submit requests to adjacent counties, and March 1 of the following year is the deadline for counties to make payments to public libraries in adjacent counties.
Calculations of adjacent county reimbursements are based upon three pieces of information available from your library's Wisconsin Public Library Annual Report:
- The number of loans in from your library to residents of that county, who live outside municipalities with libraries.
- Your library’s total circulation.
- Your library’s total operating expenditures (excluding any expenditures paid with federal funds).
More Information
If you want SCLS to submit bills on your behalf, you will be contacted each March and asked to submit a form with signatures from the Library Board President and Library Director. If you want to prepare and submit your own reimbursement requests, contact Tracie Miller for assistance.
For more information, see FAQ About County Library Funding to Libraries in Adjacent Counties (Act 420) (from DPI / DLT). It may also be helpful to review Wisconsin Statutes 43.12 (.pdf).
SCLS also has a worksheet that explains the formulas used for adjacent county reimbursement.
A map of Wisconsin Library Systems and counties is available on the Division for Libraries and Technology webiste.