North Perth Council along with the North Perth Public Library Board held a joint public information session Wednesday night in Listowel.
The meeting at Eastdale Public School informed the public on the predicted costs for the Library Board regarding the Atwood, Monkton and Listowel Libraries going forward.
In a Library Feasibility Study done in March, a proposed 3 branch system, which would need to include significant upgrades to all 3 sites, would cause an estimated 77 per cent increase in the Library budget, and a 4 per cent tax hike.
However, a centralized model running out of Listowel with outreach programs to the other two sites, would cause roughly a 21 per cent increase in the budget, with a 1.1 per cent tax increase.
Mayor Julie Behrns stated during the question portion of the evening that council would be open to working with local groups to help raise money to keep and renovate the existing Monkton and Atwood locations.
The final public meeting regarding the libraries is next Wednesday, May 27th, in the Wallace Public School.