Huntington Beach rejects $825K library donation amid budget crisis

The Huntington Beach City Council is refusing to accept an $825,000 donation for library books from a volunteer nonprofit that has supported city libraries for 55 years, even as the city grapples with an estimated $15 million structural budget deficit, according to Voice of OC.

The dispute underscores deepening tensions between the council and residents over library governance in this Orange County city, where voters last year overwhelmingly rejected council-backed proposals to censor library books and privatize library operations.

The Friends of the Huntington Beach Public Library, a volunteer nonprofit founded in the early 1970s, typically contributes roughly $250,000 each year for books and materials across five library branches. The pending $825,000 contribution — covering nearly three years of acquisitions including fiction, nonfiction and e-books — had previously been celebrated by the council with formal annual check presentations, Voice of OC reported.

The impasse centers on a memorandum of understanding the council voted in April 2025 to require from all volunteer groups. The Friends have not signed the agreement. The city has asserted it wants broader authority over how donated funds are spent, a position that conflicts with the nonprofit's legally binding charitable mission to support the library's book collection.

The refusal follows a turbulent stretch of library politics in Huntington Beach. In June 2025, voters soundly rejected the council's efforts to advance library censorship policies and privatize library operations through a special election. The council separately lost a high-profile lawsuit over book restrictions and was ordered to pay nearly $1 million in attorneys' fees, according to Voice of OC.

Carol Daus, a Huntington Beach resident and former board member of the Friends, is among residents who believe the nonprofit is being penalized for opposing the council's library agenda, the outlet reported. The Friends operates a gift shop and used book store at the Central Library, with proceeds funneled directly into the library's collections.

The council has not announced a resolution to the dispute. With no signed MOU and a $15 million budget shortfall looming, the library system faces an uncertain funding outlook heading into the coming fiscal year.