New Hartford Public Library Committee Seeks Alternate Funding
The New Hartford Public Library, like many other libraries in the area, has experienced a decrease in county and town funding over the past five years. And to keep it running at its current level, the Re-Charting Committee of the Board of Trustees says something needs to change."It's really difficult to run a library with how busy this library is and not have the adequate funding," says Linda Romano, President of the New Hartford Library Board of Trustees. She says as a result from reduced funding, they've had to cut library programs, book and computer purchases, and Wednesday library hours. The committee is now proposing to the board of trustees, and potentially tax payers, to make the library a school district library, not a municipal one.
The Committee is looking to make it so the library runs independently from the town, without funding from the town or county. The money would come from the taxpayers. If passed by the Board of Trustees to move forward, the library would submit a budget to be voted on in may along with the school budget. Romano says it would give the library stability in funding and allow it to maintain a high level of service for the public.
While there was some opposition at the meeting from the public, frequent library go-er Bud Bannington believes from what he learned from today's meeting, the funding from the town isn't adequate enough. "It seems to me to maintain the library at the level it is, which is a high level, that it's up to the citizens of New Hartford," he says."
Romano says if the Board of Trustees votes on November 16th to try and make it a school district library, the vote will be followed by a campaign and several public forums and meetings to let the public know exactly what it means for them. It's important to note that if the taxpayers vote to make it a school district library, it doesn't necessarily mean that the money previously used by the town for the library will be cut out of the town budget.
-->By: Elsa Gillis
Updated: November 7, 2011
"It's really difficult to run a library with how busy this library is and not have the adequate funding," says Linda Romano, President of the New Hartford Library Board of Trustees. She says as a result from reduced funding, they've had to cut library programs, book and computer purchases, and Wednesday library hours. The committee is now proposing to the board of trustees, and potentially tax payers, to make the library a school district library, not a municipal one.
The Committee is looking to make it so the library runs independently from the town, without funding from the town or county. The money would come from the taxpayers. If passed by the Board of Trustees to move forward, the library would submit a budget to be voted on in may along with the school budget. Romano says it would give the library stability in funding and allow it to maintain a high level of service for the public.
While there was some opposition at the meeting from the public, frequent library go-er Bud Bannington believes from what he learned from today's meeting, the funding from the town isn't adequate enough. "It seems to me to maintain the library at the level it is, which is a high level, that it's up to the citizens of New Hartford," he says."
Romano says if the Board of Trustees votes on November 16th to try and make it a school district library, the vote will be followed by a campaign and several public forums and meetings to let the public know exactly what it means for them. It's important to note that if the taxpayers vote to make it a school district library, it doesn't necessarily mean that the money previously used by the town for the library will be cut out of the town budget.
