Over $280,000 in fines will be waived
Syracuse, N.Y. – County Executive Ryan McMahon was joined by Onondaga County Public Library Executive Director Christian Zabriskie, Board President Jill Hurst-Wahl and Trustee Maria Mahar to announce that Onondaga County Public Libraries in the City of Syracuse are joining other libraries across the County and Country and will stop charging overdue fees and eliminate all outstanding fees and fines.
County Executive Ryan McMahon said, “Our libraries have transformed into robust ecosystems that are much larger than a place for books or magazines. They provide a wide variety of resources that are vital to many people in our community. Furthermore, Onondaga County is constantly working to eliminate barriers for people as we work towards our overall recovery.”
McMahon continued, “By waiving all outstanding fees and fines and no longer charging for them going forward, we are ensuring that all members of our community can take advantage of our library system. I want to thank Christian, Jill, the Library Board and the entire library team for their leadership and efforts.”
In total there are 11 city libraries and 14 suburban libraries who have, or will be, going fine free. By waiving all fees and fines that are currently outstanding, over 26,000 patrons will benefit with $282,917 in overdue fines being waived. Overdue fines account for less than 0.3% of the 2022 operations budget.
Onondaga County Public Libraries stopped charging fines on children’s cards in 2016 and Veteran’s in 2019. Fees will still be in place for lost, damaged and for some specialty items.
