Chestermere city council has asked for a closer look at how residents use the public library and how much Rocky View County contributes to its operation. The request comes as council reviews the 2027 budget and the library gathers information for a plan that will guide its services and space over the next 25 years.
Councillors passed a motion from Coun. Murray Grant on Nov. 3 directing city staff to contact the Chestermere Public Library for usage figures and its proposed 2027 budget, and to confirm the county’s contribution. Staff are to bring that information back during the next round of budget meetings, scheduled for Dec. 1, 2 and 3.
The motion sets up a December discussion about what the library needs to operate next year and how those costs are shared. The council decision leaves the funding amount for further consideration.
What the city paid this year
Chestermere’s 2026 interim operating budget included a $600,000 municipal operating grant for the library, up $100,000 from 2025. The library had requested $750,000 for 2026. Its presentation set out goals that included longer opening hours, more programming for teens and adults, and replacing aging computers and printers.
The same presentation recorded more than 75,000 library visits from January through October 2025. It also reported 558 programs and events with 7,866 participants during those 10 months. A person can visit or attend a program more than once, so those figures show the volume of activity rather than how many different people used the library.
The library serves people beyond Chestermere’s city limits. Rocky View County residents, including those in Langdon and Indus, are eligible for membership. Both the county and the Chestermere library are part of the Marigold Library System, which helps member libraries share collections and arrange loans from other branches. The amount the county contributed to Chestermere’s library is one of the figures city staff have been asked to confirm.
What residents were asked
The November motion follows a survey that closed Sept. 15. The library asked residents about its programs, services and facility as part of work on a long-term facility plan. The survey invited responses from people who use the library regularly, those who visit occasionally and those who seldom or never go. Individual responses were to be kept confidential and findings reported in summary form.
That consultation took place after the 2025 municipal census counted 32,255 residents, up from 28,129 in 2024. Planning for a growing city has been on council’s agenda before. In March 2025, council directed staff to work with the library and the development industry to revise an earlier business plan. Councillors also asked staff to explore how a future library might be funded.
The library’s earlier budget presentation identified requests for longer hours, more room for programs and quiet places to study. Those requests were reported before the September 2026 survey. Results from that latest round of consultation and a breakdown of the library’s proposed 2027 spending are still to be confirmed.
The city’s December meetings will deal with both operating and capital budgets. For library users, the immediate question is what next year’s operating money would pay for, from the hours the doors are open to the programs and equipment available inside. For councillors, the next step is to review the library’s proposal alongside the updated usage figures and the county contribution. Rocky View County has its own budget deliberations on Dec. 1, with public feedback on its draft budget open through Nov. 23.