CACHE COUNTY – While all Utahns are wrestling with how to vote on the two constitutional issues on the Nov. 3 election ballot, residents of Providence have another ballot question to ponder.
On the mail-in ballots that will be delivered to Providence residents starting on Oct. 12, those citizens are being asked whether their town should adopt the beleaguered Cache County Library.
At issue in that non-blinding ballot question is whether Providence residents are willing to impose a new property tax levy on themselves to save the county library, which would then become the city’s library.
“The county library faces probable closure in December of 2026 due to budget priorities of the current county executive and council members,” according to members of the Friends of the Cache County Library.
“Providence City will hold an official, non-binding vote on the Nov. 3 election ballot to determine if residents will consider raising property taxes and adopt the library,” they add on the group’s website.
City officials believe that the price tag for that civic altruism would be about $55 per year on a primary residence with a fair market value of $500,000, or about $4.61 a month.
“There is no alternative plan unless the county changes course to include the library in its budget for 2027,” the friends group emphasizes.
The fate of the Cache County Library located at 15 North Main Street in Providence has been up in the air since autumn of 2025. In theory, that facility serves about 30,000 county residents who have no access to municipal libraries.
Among the budget cuts proposed by Cache County Executive George Daines for 2026 last October was defunding the library, which would result in budget saving for the county of $250,000 a year.
In subsequent meetings of the Cache County Council, Daines agreed to extend the library’s funding through the end of 2026 and recommended new appointments replacing five previous voting members of the County Library Board.
In addition to adding Laura Smith and Jesse Elman (the city librarians in Richmond and Mendon) to that panel, Daines also named Mayors Kathleen Alder of Providence, Blake Wright of River Heights and David Hair of Millville.
Daines had offered to sell the library’s collection to any group or city willing to take on the library. Eventually, however, only Providence residents expressed any interest in saving the county facility.
In the meantime, the county library has struggled to cope with dramatic budget cuts for staffing, hours, material acquisitions and available programming.
If Providence residents approve the ballot question, the library’s friends say the facility’s future is still uncertain.
The friends group acknowledges that, even if Providence City successfully creates the new tax, that money would not be available until July of 2027, when the new fiscal year for the city begins.
Current county funding for the facility is expected to end in November or December, requiring the library to close for six months without funds for staff and materials.
“In the possible event that the library closes,” they say, “we would transition to helping the library director with the large and urgent task of closing down.
“If Providence City adopts the library, we plan to transition to a new name … and continue our efforts to support the new library.”