VAN BUREN — Crawford County’s legal quagmire over LGBTQ-related books in its library system has thrust other volumes into the spotlight: specifically, the budget books for both the library system and the county itself.
Leaders of both entities say they cannot afford to pay more than $118,000 in plaintiffs’ legal fees that they expect to be ordered by a federal judge to cover.
That sum would bring the taxpayer bill to almost $500,000 in legal expenses thus far over this issue.
Since May 2023, Crawford County has faced two lawsuits related to its treatment of LGBTQ-related books in its libraries. The issue bubbled up after some residents complained to the Quorum Court in late 2022 and early 2023.
Public comments regarded “some material that was being displayed at our county library on LGBT in which our county tax dollars are being used,” according to minutes from the Dec.
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