City Council tables library board decision 

SIDNEY – The Sidney City Council Tuesday decided to table its decision on the Library Board. 

Interim City Manager Josh Hanson said the city council has to decide how to define the Library Board. 

“The purpose of this agenda is to provide background and context so the mayor and city council can determine the appropriate governing structure for the Library Board prior to updating any city ordinance. Under Nebraska law, cities of the first class have the option to establish either a governing library board, or an advisory library board,” Hanson said. 

He said clarifying the structure is necessary before moving forward. 

“Some previous action, the creation and composition of the Sidney Library Board was originally established by Code 20.8 in 1958. These provisions were revised by Ordinance 842 in 1974, and again by Ordinance 960 in January of 1980,” he said. 

Hanson said the regulations adopted in 1980 remain in effect today.  He said the majority of the City’s ordinances on the library have not been updated for more than 40 years. He added that the absence of critical language found in Nebraska State Statutes, leading to confusion.  

He stressed that any time there is a question about an ordinance, he is mandated to provide the city council all the information available to consider any ordinance revision.  

“We’ve been operating  in what I would call legal gray area with the City and the function of the library. So there is a little bit of a hybrid going on. It’s been going on for years that in my opinion has caused confusion. As a new interim city manager and new to the City, it’s definitely caused confusion with me. So, what we’re looking for today is clear direction of how we can update these ordinances appropriately so we can define those roles and responsibilities,” Hanson said.