PROVIDENCE – Officials of Providence City have begun to take what might be described as a proprietary interest in the uncertain fate of the Cache County Library.
“Things are going to look different for the Cache County Library in the near future,” according to a Feb. 24 posting by Providence officials on Facebook.
“As the county makes changes,” they added, “Providence City is seeking feedback to determine how, if at all, the city should be involved.”
To obtain residents’ opinions on that topic, the city has posted an anonymous online survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/L78ZZDB.
The preface to that survey explains that Cache County may discontinue funding for the County Library after June of 2026. If that occurs, the library could close unless another source of funding is identified.
The Cache County Library is located at 15 North Main Street in Providence.
Among the budget cuts proposed by Cache County Executive George Daines for 2026 last October was defunding the library, which would resulted in budget savings for the county of $250,000 a year.
After a public outcry, the members of the Cache County Council approved a compromise in December that funded the library operations for the first six-months of 2026 while alternative funding sources were considered.
Under a longstanding agreement, Providence City funds the library structure, utilities and maintenance at a cost of about $100,000 annually.
Providence City is now evaluating whether it should become involved in preserving library services for the community, including taking over library operations.
The survey preface indicates, however, that any great change of involvement on the part of Providence City would require public budget discussions and action by the members of the Providence City Council.
In addition to basic demographic information, the survey requests that respondents explain whether members of his or her household use the county library; how often; what services they use; and what types of library materials they borrow.
The survey also asks respondents to explain how the closure of the library in Providence would impact members of their household and how much, if any, they would be willing to pay in increased property taxes to fund the library.
During budgetary debates over library funding in late 2025, Daines disputed the commonly held belief that free library services were available in Cache Valley.
Daines’ rationale for the proposed library budget cut was that 80 percent of county residents are already being taxed to support various municipal libraries. From south to north, those facilities are in Hyrum, Mendon, Logan, North Logan, Smithfield, Richmond and Lewiston.
Since Cache County also taxes its residents for library service, he questioned whether it was fair that residents of those towns should be double-taxed to provide services to 20 percent of Cache residents not already served by these municipal libraries.
Analysis by Deputy Executive Curt Webb also revealed that 70 percent of Cache County Library business comes from the cities of Providence, River Heights and Millville, all of which have chosen not to fund their own municipal libraries, along with Paradise and Hyde Park.