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September 24, 2008
Council leery of library closings Trenton residents plea to keep branches open
Times of Trenton
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
BY ANDREW KITCHENMAN
TRENTON -- City council members took the opportunity last night to question why the library board hasn't done more fundraising before its recent decision to close four neighborhood branches.
Residents took their turn at the podium at last night's council meeting to make impassioned pleas to keep the branches open, with support from some council members.
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Explaining the plan was library director Kimberly Bray, who outlined how the library reached this point and said that $1.5 million has been spent over the past five years from a surplus fund. She also said the library will develop a strategic plan, drawing input from library workers and board members as well as residents.
"We desperately need to increase our offerings to the community," Bray said.
Library officials said they plan to hire a development officer this year.
Councilman-at-large Manuel Segura said that if he was a library board member who knew the library system's financial state, he wouldn't appear at a council meeting without having done more fundraising first.
Segura also said he trusted city administration officials to allocate enough money for the libraries.
"I know the principle of sometimes robbing Peter to pay Paul is a great thing to do," Segura said.
Bray described the three options for the library: they could keep the current operations, which would require about $1 million more than the city administration has proposed. A second option would be to allocate a similar amount as last year that would reduce the branches' hours. A third would close the branches but stay within the 10 percent budget cut required by the administration.
Bray said layoffs would occur under all three options. She said she couldn't determine how many layoffs would be necessary until the state Department of Personnel's layoff procedures are completed.
The closures are required with a 10 percent budget cut because the library has lost state aid and other revenue it had last year and faces increases in worker salary and benefits, utilities and book costs.
The library system built a surplus or "reserve" fund several years ago to pay for an online library catalog, but after the online system cost fell, it was left with the surplus.
Between 2003 and this year, the libraries spent $1.5 million to balance its annual operating budgets, Bray said.
Bray also pointed out that the 4.5 percent portion of the library budget that goes toward materials like books is below the national standard of 13 to 15 percent.
Council members had varied responses to Bray.
Councilwoman-at-large Cordelia Staton questioned why more serious fundraising efforts weren't made. She said keeping the branches may not be possible under the city's budget situation and encouraged the libraries to work with the school board to make new school libraries open to the public.
South Ward Councilman Jim Coston said he opposed any reduction of hours at the branches.
Council President Paul M. Pintella said that while the libraries face a crisis today, other city departments will face crises in the near future. He added that the effect of closing the libraries may be permanent.
"When you cut off those branches, they may not grow back," Pintella said.
Library employee Donna J. Moore pleaded for keeping the branches. She recalled that a North Trenton branch closed in 1981 and never reopened. She said some city children would have difficulty reaching the Academy Street main library, which is the only one that would stay open under the current plan.
"Some people don't have people who are going to take them here, take them there," said Moore, a senior library assistant.
Contact Andrew Kitchenman at akitchenman@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5706.
Posted by tumulty at September 24, 2008 9:57 AM
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