BY JIMMY LAWTON
North Country This Week

LISBON — St. Lawrence County legislator David Forsythe, R-Lisbon, sought to gauge interest in restoring county funding to local libraries, but his colleagues remained largely silent on the matter.

At a recent Finance Committee meeting, Forsythe said he recently spoke with a local library director who raised the issue following a local government meeting.

He was told that St. Lawrence County is one of the few counties that does not offer assistance to its libraries.

Forsythe said the county once funded libraries at a rate of $1 per person for all 19 libraries in the county. He said for the town of Lisbon, which he represents, that equates to about $4,100.

He said the county ended the funding years ago when it was in dire straits. With the county’s financial situation much better than years past, he asked if there was interest in restoring the funding.

“I could go either way on it,” he said.

Forsythe said he sent an email to his fellow legislators but only received one response back, which supported the idea.

Additionally, Forsythe questioned if a donation option could be added to county tax bills. The idea was to create an easy option for those interested in supporting their libraries. He said the idea came from a similar donation option included on hunting licenses.

County Administrator Ruth Doyle said she could research the idea, but believed it could be done through local law.

No further discussion on the matter took place and no consensus was given on either issue.

The idea could be revisited in an upcoming budget discussion.