Wilton Manors wants to preserve the city’s library — a nearly 70-year-old community staple whose costs have keep increasing through the years.
The library’s budget has risen from about $730,000 in 2020 to about $1 million this year. The library costs are just one consideration for the city, which says it has made “significant budget reductions” to various city initiatives to meet budget challenges that “are not expected to ease.”
Concerned about the costs, the city has asked Broward County whether it would want to help the city by taking over the library as a county-run location.
“If they’ll run the library and absorb the cost of the library but it remains there as a benefit to our residents, that’s a home run,” said City Commissioner Chris Caputo. Of the library, he said, “It’s an insane part of our budget.”
So far, talks between the city and county have been in the early stages, exploring whether they could strike some sort of partnership. “There have been no decisions made at this time by either side,” said Broward spokesman Gregory Meyer. “When and if we move forward with some type of agreement, it will need to be beneficial to Wilton Manors as well as Broward County.”
City and county administrators met last month to talk about the Richard C. Sullivan Public Library of Wilton Manors, and the county now is doing some “fact-finding,” including hours, programs, collection data, and the budget, said Michael Ruiz, Broward’s assistant administrator.
“It’s a lot of preliminary conversation,” Ruiz said. “We’re so early in the process.”
Options could include not necessarily a takeover but a partnership of some sort and the sides could try to find that “sweet spot,” Ruiz said.
(Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)
A patron walks through the Wilton Manors Library on March 11, 2025. Citing the increased cost of doing business, Wilton Manors is trying to unload its city-run library to Broward County. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Seeking help
Wilton Manors City Manager Leigh Ann Henderson had requested the county meeting in December, writing County Administrator Monica Cepero that the city library has more than 40,000 books, magazines, videos, audiobooks and digital resources.
“However, as a small municipality, we face increasing financial challenges in sustaining this beloved institution,” she wrote.
Henderson readied a follow-up memo on Feb. 20 to members of the city’s Library Advisory Board. She advised that the city was “navigating financial challenges” and had rising costs including personnel, insurance and public safety.
“At the same time, some of our key revenue sources have declined, increasing the urgency of addressing our long-term financial sustainability,” she wrote.
She wrote that the city commissioners had to raise property taxes this past year “despite making significant budget reductions in areas such as police staffing, special events, and recreation programs to minimize the tax impact on residents.”
She warned that “budgetary challenges are not expected to ease.”
(Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)
The Wilton Manors Library is shown on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Running a city library
Wilton Manors is one of just five city-owned libraries in Broward: The others are in Lighthouse Point, Oakland Park, Parkland and Plantation, according to Broward County.
Broward County operates 37 libraries in 20 cities and provides services to all residents such as homework help.
The Wilton Manors library, at 500 NE 26th St., is paid with the city’s general fund.
Generally, community facilities, such as parks, recreation programs and libraries, are meant to enhance the lives of residents — amenities that aren’t considered money-making endeavors. The Wilton Manors library generates about $6,000 a year, mostly from late fees and charges for copies and faxes, according to a city spokeswoman.
The library opened in 1957 and a story in the Fort Lauderdale News that year credited the Jaycees with raising money for the bookshelves. “Still needed desperately are good juvenile books,” a librarian told the Fort Lauderdale News that summer. According to a Jan. 12, 1958, story in the Fort Lauderdale News, organizers still were seeking donations of “good children’s books.”
The library is named for Richard C. Sullivan, who in 2003 donated $40,000 to complete the furnishing of the children’s wing. He died in 2005 and left $280,000 to pay off the remaining bond debt if the library bears his name, and the library was renamed the following year.
Commissioner Caputo said he thinks library-goers would ultimately benefit from a wider selection if the county were to step in to help: “The pure size of (the county’s) collection dwarfs what our little library has,” he said.
Residents could have “access to a wider range of materials. Being part of that network is a huge benefit to our residents,” he said.
(Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)
A black angelfish swims in its tank in the children’s area at the Wilton Manors Library on March 11, 2025. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Arlene Lancaster, who serves as president of the nonprofit Friends of the Wilton Manors Library, called it a gathering place for residents. She said she didn’t want the county to absorb the city library.
“It makes me sad they are considering doing that,” she said. “Our library has been here for very many years.”
She said she knows the city budget is tight, but the Friends group will help raise funds. “It might be able to save it for another year,” she said, detailing her hopes.
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash
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