SHELBURNE — The Selectboard and Finance Committee have agreed to scale back the proposed budget cuts for the Arms Library.

The boards have approved recommending a $37,328 fiscal year 2026 budget for the Arms Library to voters at next Tuesday’s Annual Town Meeting. The number represents a 7.8% decrease from the FY25 budget of $40,500, but is a slight increase from the $35,848 budget the two boards had considered earlier.

For FY26, the library was seeking a 2.5% increase amounting to $41,513. When presenting a draft budget to the Selectboard and Finance Committee in February, library trustees said the additional $1,000 would cover increased costs for materials and staff wages.

“Basically our goal is to keep even with inflation,” said Arms Library trustee Dan Alden. “We’re not trying to expand or subtract; we’re trying to keep even with inflation.”

Funding for the Arms Library is split between the towns of Shelburne and Buckland, and each town’s share is calculated with a formula. The Buckland Selectboard agreed to the library’s proposed 2.5% increase and will be recommending a $28,574 budget at Annual Town Meeting.

Facing inflation and increased expenses from other departments, Shelburne’s Finance Committee and Selectboard sought budget lines to trim to keep the budget under the levy limit and reasonable for taxpayers. They recommended a $35,848 budget for the library, but were notified by the library trustees that reducing the budget would in turn reduce the library’s state aid. To keep its current level of state aid, the town must appropriate at least $37,328 for library services. According to the Massachusetts Libraries Board of Commissioners, Shelburne received a total of $7,699 for its libraries in FY25.

Arms Library Director Laurie Wheeler said the budget cuts came as a shock and that she wished the trustees were consulted before the decision was made.

“In a past year when a similar cut was being proposed, the Arms Library was given an opportunity to make a presentation about the detriment to such funding cuts,” Wheeler said to the Selectboard on Tuesday, April 22. “We’re a public library committed to growing a strong community and learning from each other, working together, and the recent decision made by the Finance Committee and Selectboard is not in step with what our community is.”

Wheeler added that, with cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the town will likely see a reduction in federal aid as well, making local dollars even more important.

“What was the point of making this large of a funding cut?” Wheeler asked. “We have all of the IMLS cuts happening, and simultaneously the Massachusetts House of Representatives and the Ways and Means Committee has level-funded Massachusetts libraries.”

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.