For the first time since the Dallas Public Library opened its doors in 1978, the downtown Paulding County branch is on track for a serious makeover, backed by $3 million in state money and a growing stack of local funds and grant paperwork.
State Senate Majority Leader Jason Anavitarte is cheering a $3 million allocation in the Georgia General Assembly’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget that is earmarked to renovate the Dallas Public Library. The project is expected to expand educational resources, upgrade technology and open up more community space, while local officials work behind the scenes to line up matching dollars and push the project into design and construction.
State Budget Adds $3 Million
The conference version of HB 974 includes a $3 million bond allocation to fund construction of the Dallas Public Library, recorded in the House Budget and Research Office's House Budget and Research Office. The allocation appears as 20-year bonds in the conference agreement that lists library construction projects across the state. If the conference budget is signed, that bond language will clear the way for the state portion of the project to be released.
Local Leaders Pushed The Measure
Senate Majority Leader Jason Anavitarte said the allocation followed work by the Paulding delegation to secure the project for the county. “Paulding County is one of the fastest-growing counties in our state, and this investment ensures our infrastructure keeps pace with that growth,” Anavitarte said, as reported by the Georgia Senate Press Office. The press release says the state dollars are intended to match more than $1.6 million in local funds that Paulding officials have assembled for the renovation.
County Steps And Next Moves
Paulding County's work session agenda shows commissioners planned in October to authorize signing Georgia Public Library Service construction-grant paperwork as staff lined up the local match and project plan, per Paulding County. The Dallas branch is part of the West Georgia Regional Library System, which will coordinate operations and services for the renovated space, according to the West Georgia Regional Library System. Final release of funds depends on the governor signing the FY 2027 budget into law and on the county completing grant acceptance and design work before construction can begin.
