Cache County Council on Tuesday approved the county's 2026 budget (Resolution 2025-43) after extended debate about whether to restore full-year funding for the Cache County Library. The council voted to fund the library for the first six months at $134,600 and to review progress before committing additional funds.

The six-month compromise came during consideration of amendments to the tentative budget presented by Cache County Auditor Matthew Funk. Funk answered technical questions about employee benefits and line-item adjustments. Councilmember Mark moved to restore the library's full-year funding to last year's level; Councilman Nolan Gunnwell offered a substitute motion to adopt the executive's six-month funding plan and monitor performance. The substitute motion passed, and council members then approved a package of additional amendments, including a plan to add one full-time position in the auditor's office (up to $86,000, including benefits), and increases to council equipment and subscription lines.

Why it matters: the library's funding has been the subject of public comment and internal discussion about accreditation, fundraising and the board's capacity to become more self-sustaining. Council members repeatedly said they wanted to avoid interrupting accreditation work while also protecting taxpayers' dollars.

Key details: Auditor Matthew Funk told the council the budget includes edits requested at prior meetings and that a set of journal-entry adjustments reflected those changes. The council accepted multiple on-the-fly amendments that were emailed to members the prior Friday and displayed during the meeting. Specific changes approved or discussed included:

- Library funding: six-month allocation of $134,600 to be reviewed in mid-2026; council reserved the right to reopen the budget in June based on progress toward accreditation and fundraising. The substitute motion to fund six months passed.

- Auditor staffing: council approved adding a full-time position in the auditor's office, capped at $86,000 for 2026, with the auditor tasked to reduce overlap in part-time/seasonal staffing where possible.

- Council budget adjustments: an additional $1,000 for public-lands council membership and a $7,000 increase in equipment and supplies for council laptops and related needs were approved.

- Process and packet clarity: several council members raised concerns that the printed packet differed from a version emailed on Friday; staff displayed the changes and council approved accepting those edits into the budget before final adoption.

Votes and procedure: the council moved and seconded the final adoption of the budget as amended and recorded the motion as approved. Several amendments were passed by voice vote; one councilmember recorded a nay during a subsidiary vote and one abstention occurred on a separate item earlier in the meeting.

What's next: staff will continue to reconcile 2025's final spending and will reopen the 2026 budget as needed during the first quarter for adjustments. Council members said they expect additional quarterly reviews and that if the library demonstrates progress the council can consider restoring further funding later in the year.

Quotation highlights: Auditor Matthew Funk summarized the RFP work that led to other approvals during the meeting: "We had 3 firms respond ... Joan Simpkins was the low bid". On the library compromise, a council member urged monitoring the executive's recommendation: "If we follow the executive's plan and monitor for a few months we can see if it goes," (substitute motion proponent, quoted during debate).

The council adjourned into an executive session on real-property strategy and personnel matters immediately after closing the public portion of the meeting.