Northport Council 'Bows To Threats' Over Tuscaloosa Public Library Funding

NORTHPORT, AL — The Northport City Council voted Monday night to provide the Tuscaloosa Public Library with a special appropriation of $101,455 after the library system confirmed over the weekend it planned to cut certain services for Northport residents due to a lack of funding.

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As Patch previously reported, Tuscaloosa Public Library Board of Trustees Chair Jeff Hinton informed Northport city officials last week that the library system planned to suspend Overdrive and Libby online services for Northport residents in the beginning on March, along with removing the book vending machine installed at Northport City Hall.

A vocal majority of the council aired their frustrations with the library system's decision to publicly confirm to local media its proposed plan to cut services without having more of a dialogue with city leaders, before ultimately voting to provide additional funding to supplement the $186,560 that was approved as part of the city's outside agency budget.

Council President Christy Bobo said during the meeting Monday that the crisis was a manufactured one, designed to pressure elected officials into meeting demands.

"The City Council has consistently supported our Tuscaloosa Public Library, increasing its funding each year, sometimes with additional large funding asks being met on multiple emergency occasions to ensure the Library remains a valuable resource for our community," she told Patch on Monday. "However, we should not ignore or accept the tactics that have been used to demand even more funding — tactics that include threats to cut off vital services, break prior agreements, and target users of specific services."

District 3 Councilman Karl Wiggins made the initial motion Monday night after saying that it was the opinion of the city's legal counsel that it would be illegal for a state-funded library to cut services to the city.

"They are required to provide services to all residents of Tuscaloosa County and can not discriminate against one municipality," Wiggins said.

When asked for clarity on the legal end, Northport Assistant City Attorney Chris Cunningham cited Alabama Code Section 11-90-3, which pertains to the powers and duties of the Tuscaloosa Public Library Board.

This statute says the library board shall have full power and authority to "provide a system of library service to be made easily available to all citizens of the county or municipality through central library, branches, stations, book truck service, or other appropriate means."

Hinton told Patch that the TPL Board of Trustees legal team checked in before the decision to cut services was voted on and said the decision was viewed as legal, so long as the library was still providing normal day-to-day operations.

"Any online services would be an extra cost, which goes beyond what a typical brick-and-mortar branch could provide," Hinton said. "As long as we provide hours, books and access, there was no limitations to restrictions online. It's a little perk the library added."

Still, Wiggins pointed out that the city has provided nearly $1.2 million in funding over the past five years, which he said represented a substantial increase compared to years past.

He also said the $186,560 allocated was the most ever contributed to the library system by the City Council for a single budget year.

"I’m truly appalled and disappointed that the library has seen fit to target Northport citizens when this council has done its best to rectify the funding sins of the past," Wiggins said, before lamenting how others have used it to generate "political hay" and "clickbait."

Despite questions over the legality of the library system's intentions of cutting certain services, Wiggins then said he felt the city had no choice but to "bow to the threats of the library board in order to protect the services that Northport citizens rely on and deserve."

The motion for a special appropriation for the Tuscaloosa Public Library passed 4-1, with District 2 Councilman Woodrow Washington III voting against the measure.

The additional funding is contingent upon the aforementioned library services being retained through the end of the current fiscal year.

Prior to the vote, Washington also voiced his frustrations over how the library board handled the funding situation, echoing Wiggins by underscoring how much City Hall has contributed in recent years compared to past administrations.

As Patch previously reported, the library requested an additional $112,015 from Northport for the library’s 2025 operational budget for a total request of $288,015. Instead, Northport city officials approved $186,560 in funding for 2025, which is compared to the $50,000 budgeted for the library as recently as 2019.

This also included $418,000 allocated for recent capital improvements.

"I’m not going to vote to sacrifice the employee raises to give to outside agencies," Washington said. "Each agency is going to continue this bullying. It’s an election year, so it is what it is. At the end of the day, we don’t have to give in to them. When they asked for the money before, they were going to give us the vending machine, now they want to take the vending machine if we don’t give them another $100,000. Who does that?"

Bobo agreed following the vote, saying the council voted to provide the funding because the alternative — allowing the drastic cuts that would harm citizens — was unacceptable.

"But this is not a long-term solution," she told Patch. "The reality is that every dollar allocated beyond our planned budget has future consequences. Northport deserves a library truly committed to serving all of its people. I remain committed to working toward that goal, and hope you will stand with us in requesting practices of fairness, accountability, and civility in how outside agency services are funded."

District 5 Councilman Anwar Aiken also voted for the special appropriation for the library but said he did so for the sole sake of preserving services for Northport residents.

Indeed, city leaders agreed on background that it would likely cost the taxpayers more to challenge the legality of the library's proposed cuts to services in court than it would be to provide the additional funding requested.

"The way the library board went about this is completely inappropriate but I also understand the fallout hits the citizens of Northport," he said. "They knew what they were doing. I don’t want our residents to not have access to services they love and they use every single day. But at some point and time we do have to draw the line. This is not how it should be done."

Hinton told Patch that the library system is grateful that Northport city council members made the difficult decision to provide additional funding.

He also said library leaders also look forward to improved communication with Northport officials concerning the future growth of the library through a 5- or 6-year plan.

"The library board and all involved are extremely excited and proud that the citizens of Northport spoke up and that the council shared their opinions about the use and importance of the library, something we tried to stress to everyone," Hinton said. "From a standpoint of putting this behind us, it's a nice victory for the public library and community, and for all those who cherish the library and services the staff provide. It's refreshing to know the community support was heard by the council and they found the additional funding for services."

Following the vote, Bobo reflected on the tense situation with library and mentioned the "fear, confusion, and anger our citizens have felt watching these events unfold."

She also doubled down on her belief that the public dust-up over library funding was a manufactured crisis that sent the wrong message to the community.

"I, too, would be outraged at the thought of losing library services," she said. "But I ask for consideration of the full picture: the City of Northport has done its part to support the library, consistently, steadily, and largely increasing funding each year in a way that is fiscally responsible and aligned with available funding. Moving forward, all agency partnership participants should practice working in good faith with the city’s steady increases to outside agencies."

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