The Board of Selectmen requested that the Library Trustees provide detail about how a $13,000 budget cut could impact the library. In the interest of transparency, the Library Trustees are providing details of how a $13,000, or 25% budget cut would effect Library staff and services to the public:
The following would be cut from library offerings
- Ancestry.com database
- Movie license
- Downloadable books
- Craft supplies
- Computer contract, including virus protection, IT support, and Cleanslate disc protection
- Summer reading program supplies and events
Fewer library hours
- The library would be open one less day a week, (likely Wednesday or Friday), reflecting a cut to staff salaries. This would cut $5600 from the director’s salary, which is time Amber uses to work on grants and fundraising, which has brought in over $17,000 in 2013.
Increased charges
We would be forced to begin charging for faxing and raise the price of printing/copying to offset the cost of supplies:
- Instead of being free up to 10 pages, faxing would now cost $1 a page.
- The price to print or copy would rise from $.25 a page to $.85 a page.
If you are interested in voicing your opinion about this issue, the library trustees suggest you attend the Board of Selectmen’s meeting on Monday, October 21st at 6pm at St. John Baptist hall.
