Valerie Miles recently took to social media to tell the public the Municipality of Faraday would not be paying its share of the cost of the new public library located on the ground floor of the North Hastings Inspiration Place.
The Bancroft councillor says it’s a $35,000 loss in funding for the library.
“As a library board member and councillor, I would like to say thank you to both Limerick and Faraday. They have been major supporters of the library, historically, by funding its operations. Unfortunately, Faraday has made a decision just recently to no longer support it.”
When reached for an interview, Miles said neighbouring municipalities without libraries have consistently given financial support to the town.
“They don’t have libraries, and they understand with us being the hub, their constituents are coming and using the services. We just got news this week that Faraday chose not to support us.”
She added the town’s head librarian and CEO presents to area councils to keep them up to date on the value of the facility for residents living outside of Bancroft. Faraday passed its budget in March and there was no funding line for the library.
“That’s a hard kick for us. It’s $35,000 out of about a $225,000 budget and we are now looking at a shortfall halfway through 2026. We’re really disappointed and are trying to navigate through why the funding was cut.”
Miles said the library board is in the process of sending a letter to Faraday asking for some clarity.
“We want Faraday residents to be aware this decision has been made and we want the people of Bancroft to be aware. It might mean an adjustment to the town’s budget because this was completely unexpected.”
MyBancroftNow has reached out to Faraday Mayor Dennis Purcell and the municipality for comment but has not received a reply.
The Inspiration Place development includes the library and housing with a completion date of sometime in the late fall. It is being built by Rural Roots Property Development Inc., an Ontario company that specializes in affordable housing projects. The residential component will include a mix of rent-geared-to-income units, affordable rental units and market-rate rental units.
