As the year quickly draws to an end, Twiggs County residents are wondering if their library will end with it. The million-dollar state-funded building opened with much fanfare in October, but closed just two weeks later due to confusion over local funding. The doors re-opened thanks to some last minute action from the county commission. But the library’s future remains in question.

Billy Humphries, a member of the library’s board of trustees, says currently the library is operating with just $5,000.00 in the bank. "That’s what it’s living on and we’re going to need more than that to get the library open on January 1. We’re going to make the $5,000.00 work though. We’ll cut back on hours."

The budget shortfall has come down to a squabble between library officials and the county commission over funding. Humphries has called the commission dysfunctional.

But during a county commission budget meeting in November commissioner Donald Watson questioned why the library board of trustees voted to close before consulting with them. Watson also said “We’re getting a lot of bad press for something we didn’t do.”

At this point, county officials say the library is in next year's budget. But that budget has not been approved yet, which still leaves the library up in the air.

Tags: Leah Fleming, Twiggs County. Library