Thanks to Carol Becker for getting this issue into the public discussion, and thanks, too, to the Mayor for his response. He certainly is "putting down the checkbook and picking up the phone," as he promised to do during the campaign.
I appreciate Wizard Marks' comment that "libraries are about people." I couldn't agree more, and it's a refreshing comment, because all too often the argument is that libraries are about buildings, specifically the building you grew up going to or took your kids to. Catherine Settani is right too when she emphasizes the access to public information that libraries provide. But since this tread is about building funds, I'll say that the trouble is that the capital funds are promised far in advance and the CLIC recommendation for 2004-08 was zeroed out in the Mayor's budget. Concerns about how much it costs to run the library system shouldn't be addressed by cutting off capital funds. The new downtown library will be cheaper to operate than the old one, by 15%, and other capital improvements at neighborhood libraries will result in similar savings. Cutting off building funds only defers needed repairs and upgrades and makes the buildings more costly to operate. "Outlook 2010" is the Library's plan for capital improvements to our community libraries developed before the referendum. The total budget for Outlook 2010 is $38 million, which assumes that $30 million would be raised from the library referendum and that an additional $8 million would be allocated through the City's Capital Improvement Program via CLIC with contributions of $1.6 million for each year between 2006 and 2010. The City Council and previous Mayor have repeatedly taken formal action recognizing these commitments. The current Council should reaffirm these commitments. The Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library are raising $15 million in private funds for library improvements, including the new downtown libary. We are nearing our $8 million goal for November 2003, and a cut in the city's contribution to capital projects would do serious damage to the private campaign, even as the Mayor is making his rounds. I second Carol Becker's recommendation that those concerned with library capital improvements contact their City Council Members. It's the Council's responsibility to approve or make changes to the Mayor's proposed budget. Thanks, Jim Berg Corcoran Neighborhood Board Member, Friends of the MPL __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/ REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
