The difference between the library budget suggested by the Library Trustees ($2,128,288) and that recommended by the Finance Committee ($2,093,584). According to the Finance Committee Report to Town Meeting, Part II, the Finance Committee makes this recommendation in an attempt to more equally share the budget reductions among all budget areas. This would represent a -1.5% decrease in support for the library budget and compares to the -1.4% reduction to the municipal budget, -1.5% reduction to the elementary school budget, and -8.9% reduction to the capital budget. The regional budget is more complicated due to our regional agreement and varying assessments by town; the total regional budget is being reduced by 1.2% although the Amherst assessment is going to be increased by 1.4% (still less than the originally recommended 3.7% increase).
If Town Meeting votes the Finance Committee budget for the library, this will mean that the library will fail to meet Massachusetts' Municipal Appropriation Requirement. This requirement requires cities and towns to fund their libraries at 2.5% above the average of the preceding three years’ municipal appropriations in order for the libraries to be certified and to continue receiving state aid. If their funding falls below that level, the library may lose its certification. According to the handout prepared for Town Meeting by the library trustees, this could mean the loss of state aid (~$70,000 for Amherst), the loss of inter-library loan and other reciprocal services with certified libraries in other towns, and the inability for the library to apply for grants under the Library Services and Technology Act program (loss of $11,200 for ESL and Spanish programs).
It is apparently possibly, however, for apply for a waiver by showing municipal financial hardship (we definitely have that criterion met!) and demonstrating that the library is not taking a disproportionate share of the budget cuts (again, that criterion met). The vast majority of municipalities seeking a waiver, including nearby Northampton, have had them granted.
Town Meeting is going to have to vote on this budget and despite my sympathy for the library's current situation, I have to trust the Finance Committee and vote for their recommendation. If nothing else, the library has not been seen--during this long budget season--as actively looking for serious restructuring the way our other budget areas have been. Perhaps this is just perception, but when I read "in the Library Trustees' proposed budget, there would be 25.2 FTEs, unchanged from FY 09. As of this writing, library staff had not determined how to reduce their budget to meet the Finance Committee's recommended budget" in the Finance Committee report, it bothers me. Especially when we are seeing a reduction of 1.5 FTE for the municipal budget (and substantial changes in funding levels for many areas), a decrease of 23 FTE for the elementary schools (including the loss of 12.25 FTE teachers and the closing of one school), and a decrease of 27.5 FTE for the regional schools (including 17 FTE teachers and the elimination of two academic teams in the middle school).
In the report from the Facilitation of Community Choices Committee, the public made various comments about the library budget, and the most commonly-cited suggestion was "close the branch libraries." Now I know that doing so would not change the math in the equation relating to the Appropriation Requirement, but the fact that that is not even on the table for discussion (although closing an elementary school was) also bothers me. Especially when Bonne Isman, the Library Director, told the FCCC that if the budget for FY10 were funded at or below level services, closing one or more of the branch libraries would be a possibilty for restructuring.
I have personally used both branch libraries and really appreciate them and understand that they contribute to community in those areas, but I have also been to Marks Meadow and appreciate that it contributed to that community (but still supported its closing due to financial and enrollment reasons). It may be that the town would really save virtually no money by closing one or more of the branch libraries, but as a taxpayer and member of Town Meeting, I would at least like to see some serious discussion of this by the library trustees, including an estimate of cost savings for the closing of each branch. If nothing else, opening this discussion might help the community see the library as more of a "team player" in this difficult budget season.
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Should the library trustees consider closing one or both of the branch libraries?
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23 comments:
I live near one of the branch libraries and never use it, because it is musty, dark and disorganized. While (sort of) charming, the branch libraries primarily benefit those who can walk to them. I would like to learn how much, if any, money would be saved by closing them and consolidating at the downtown location.
They should be closed, regardless of how much savings. They are a thing of the past, a luxury we can no longer afford, period.
Is that too harsh?
A few years back the Library was only the same $25 or $35-K out of balance (while everybody else was twenty or thirty times that) and of course town officials wanted them to pass a resolution supporting the Override (and they did not).
So I guess this is now payback. Hold it against an organization for being thrifty all of the time, thus setting too high a benchmark.
Libraries are history. Try www.amazon.com - I have books delivered in 3 days.
I think both branches of the library are pretty cheap for the services and community they provide to their neighborhoods. At some point, our community will lose more than we save by cuts.
Why Fund Libraries Now?
* Libraries are a vital part of the recovery effort for our residents. People need libraries to prepare and send resumes, search for jobs, and apply for jobs on-line.
* Libraries save money for our residents! In these times people want to be able to borrow library materials rather than spend their shrinking budgets on books, CDs& DVDs.
* Libraries in Massachusetts are seeing an explosion of use, circulation and other usage measures have risen every year for the last ten years. In 2008 Massachusetts residents borrowed 57 million items from public libraries; 40% of Massachusetts residents are regular public library users.
* Public libraries are literacy centers in their communities, where children are introduced early to books and reading, and where adults find help to gain essential literacy skills
* People are beginning to need to make choices about paying for high-speed computing. They need public internet access and computing to be able to search for health and consumer information, access e-government functions (including paying taxes), and to use databases for work and school.
* All summer Massachusetts children retain the gains made during the school year by using their public libraries to READ!
* Public Libraries are centers of civic engagement, providing programs of interest to their communities, encouraging constructive dialog that builds communities, and providing meeting and gathering spaces for local organizations and groups.
Why Fund Libraries When There Are Other Services That Need Funding?
* Despite the growing usage, state funding for libraries in Massachusetts has never recovered from the cuts made in 2000-2002, we should be protected from additional cuts now, since we are still below funding levels achieved in the 1990's
* Literacy and education are priorities in Massachusetts-how can officials say this and cut library funding?
* Districts with well-funded school libraries and certified library teachers achieve better results on standardized tests and other measures of student achievement.
* Significant inequity exists in school library services from one district to another. If one of the goals of state education funding is to level the playing field among municipalities and school districts in our state, library programs must be supported.
* Libraries are efficient, a good use of taxpayer money, and give a large return on each state dollar invested through regionalization, networking, collaboration and community and school partnerships.
Why Do We Ask for Additional Funding in Tough Times?
* We must have a recovery plan for libraries, and we need to be ready to help our communities emerge from the recession.
* We must ask for the funding and support that we need to adequately sustain our current programs, and we need to show the gap between what we have and what we need.
Key Phrases:
* Libraries are the great equalizer in our communities. Libraries are engines of economic success. They provide opportunity and hope for all: entrepreneurs, students, job seekers, the homeless, the affluent, new Americans, children, young adults, adults and seniors, literate and illiterate. All find a path to success at the library.
* Libraries transform lives. The newcomer to our country finds an ESOL class at the library, learns English, becomes a citizen, and finds employment. The high school freshman struggles academically, finds a peer tutoring program at the library, gets help, makes friends and becomes an A student. The entrepreneur researches a business idea, writes a plan, gets funding, starts a business, hires workers. Libraries transform lives.
* Strong libraries build strong communities. As community centers and centers for civic engagement libraries bring people together to discuss community issues and ultimately to solve problems.
Like LSSE, I haven't seen any efforts made by the library to determine what would be "best practices" given limited resources. What hours are used least, what hours are used most, how many people use X service. The impression I get every year from both LSSE and the library is entitlement. They say their budgets are REALLY important so don't need to change.
Most of the arguments posted by anon@227 (why is this poster anon?) could apply to the schools which are taking ENORMOUS cuts.
Aren't we all chewing on the leg bones of our schools, libraries and town services at this point? Time to pony up some tax money to support them and stop fighting amongst each other over $15 to 30K.
"why is this poster anon?"
Abbie - you are as anonymous to me as anon. Why are you posting anon and taking an un-nessary pot-shot at an anon poster? I thought the post was a well-written defense of libraries. I do not have any problems with people who post anonymously. I do not understand what the issue is with anon posters.
Our town is in dire financial straits. The time for sniping is over. We need to come together to figure out a way to keep the services we need (not just want but need) in all areas of our town's budget.
Anon 6:11AM and Abbie: I am completely in support of anonymous posting becauase I think that is the only way many people will feel comfortable enough to post. Like Abbie, however, I did wonder why Anon 2:27PM chose to post anonymously simply because the comment was so thorough and well-written. I was curious about the source!
Anon 9:24PM: Like a number of other people on blogs or on the Town Meeting lists, you have suggested "ponying up" tax dollars to pay for our services. I think you are suggesting an override? That is definitely one solution, but despite the various people mentioning this in the paper, on blogs, on lists, etc. I have yet to see a substantive movement pushing for an override. Is this because even those who think and override is the solution know there is not enough public support for one to pass? Is this because everyone is waiting for someone else to do it? Is this because people are waiting for things to get even worse before organizing an override movement? I am genuinely curious. To all of you override supporters out there, any thoughts?
to anon@711:
here is what I don't like about the anonymous "anonymous". People can say inconsistent things because so many people are anonymous. I don't mind the idea of choosing a nom de blog (as someone cleverly coined). Anon posters get less credibility from me because, for example, for all I know a specific blogger may be saying all over the place that we can't cut anything and we can't develop anything and we can't do an override (there is no way to pin individual blogs back to an anon blgger).
So yes, I am anonymous to many by posting "abbie" but you can follow all *I* have said and determine its consistency and merit.
My guess it that the anon@227 is a library trustee, and if so, then why would they post anonymously? There was nothing naughty in the post- it was pure propaganda (in the literal sense).
To post anonymously (no nom de blog) is irresponsible, in my view, and makes it so that the blogger is totally unaccountable for their words.
I don't think I said anything that was a "potshot". The first paragraph was unrelated to the previous post.
Alison:
In response to your wondering about the lack of an organized effort at an override here in Amherst - I wonder if folks are waiting to see how the Northampton override vote goes. It is alot of work to get an override passed and if the Northampton effort is unsuccessful it may disuage people in Amherst from launching an override attempt here. Another thought I have is that with summer approaching, Amherst is moving into its lazy days of summer mode. Perhaps some organiztion will be done over the summer with the major push to come in the fall.
State-wise overrides are passing by a 2 to 1 margin, reversing the trend from last year. Communities that rarely pass overrides have passed them this year. It seems towns are recognizing the uniquely dire situation this year they all face this year and are stepping up to the plate to protect essential services.
Anon 9:15AM and Anon 9:50AM: I think it is a wise idea to look at override results in other parts of the Commonwealth before deciding if, when, and how to proceed with any override effort. Northampton will decide tomorrow which will provide Amherst residents with a good local example. I would also be interested in seeing the wording of each of the override questions in all towns (whether they passed or not). When I was on the FCCC, I looked at a number of override votes over the prior year and noticed that those which were either menu overrides or overrides specifically targeted to an exact area of the budget were more likely to pass then general overrides. That was just one sample over one season, though. I have also read that debt exclusion overrides throughout the Commonwealth are more likely to pass since those tax increases are temporary.
I don't see how our town cannot pass an override in the next year. Because in past years we have added very little to our reserves, we have very little. It is my understanding that this year we are using virtually ALL of our available reserves (except that bit required for maintaining our bond status). Clearly, we won't be adding to our reserves this year. This means that next year there will be NO reserves to dip into. Folks should be VERY scared by this outcome!! This scenerio was predicted by the Town Finance Committee (FC) and recognized by TM members who voted with the FC in past years but were overriden by TM members who irrationally believed that things weren't that bad and the FC was just being pessimistic (look who was right).
To all those doubters that the S*** didn't hit the fan as predicted by those who wanted the last override...NEXT year the S*** is hitting the fan- big time (as a consequence of the last failed override) and the only thing that will stop it is a new OVERRIDE.
The issue with this year is that it seems to be too late for one. I think September is the earliest (and it costs town $ to put on a special election, I don't remember how much $20K?). This would be too late to affect this year's budget...How could you add teachers back in October??
My own view is that an override effort would not succeed. People are already tapped out; property taxes in Amherst are high compared to neighboring towns. Moreover, the budget is too rich in certain areas. The library's assertion that it is too important to be cut is just one example. (I concur with Abbie, who noted that you could replace "library" with "school" in that propoganda piece by anon@2:27.)
I personally would not support an override unless the structural issues in the town budget are addressed, and there are specific plans in place for developing/expanding the tax base. (That plan must go beyond the pipe-dream that UMass will save the day.) And, yes, I have a kid in the school system, and yes, I voted for the last override.
Just one opinion, but I doubt I'm alone in this view.
If people in Amherst won't rally and pay for town services and schools why are we asking the town employees and teachers to give up salary?
Anon. 1:14
Don't worry, you are not alone. As a former town employee, I know first hand of all the waste. And so do most taxpayers.
I agree that the tax base must be enlarged, that the fat within the Town Hall, DPW, and School Department eliminated, and that the University and colleges be forced to increase contributions. Time for the Town to play hardball with someone else than the property owner.
If we can ask the teachers to forego a legally negotiated raise this year, then is it ok for teachers to ask to forego some future contract and ask for a bigger raise depsite what they negotiated? Does it work both ways?
Does anyone in his right mind think the town would say, "Gee, sure we'll do that. No problem."
I doubt it.
I've been in on many of these negotiations and the opening salvo is always for the school committee's lawyer to kick the teachers in the teeth, insult them, ridiculue them and then try to negotiate. Hey, maybe that's the nature of tough negotiations. Blood is spilled. But neither Andy Churchill or any of the other sc members who were on the negotiating team screamed stopped the presses when it came time to settle the contract.
Give back this raise? Who's going to pay for my new teeth?
What fat? People are always talking about fat in budgets, but never state specifically what positions and programs are unessential and should be cut. If you've worked in town government, pleae tell us where the waste is.
Northampton overwhelmingly passed it's override yesterday.
Where is the fat?
How about:
the golf course
ESL coordinator at the library
human rights director
...
Where's the fat?
Take a ride through the DPW parking lot, So. Pleasant St., and count the automobiles with blue plates. Not trucks, plows, backhoes, but automobiles. Remember Stan Ziomek and his ONE car?
And, how about the Parking Office needing a car. Aren't the meters within walking distance from the Police Station? Plus walking would be healthy for the meter "maids".
Then of course, Inspection Services in the Town Hall. There was much more building when Echo Hill, Orchard Valley, Puffton Village, Colonial Village, etc. occurred. Handled by one man, Chet Penza.
And, and the School Department with highly paid Principals directing pickup traffic and checking staff sick days, etc.
Fat? I would call it waste.
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