Can't blame library in feud with city over cuts

I have been following the banter back and forth between Wheaton City Council and the library board over the library budget and cuts that have been instituted as a result. In the past, I remember attending a library board meeting when discussion was initially held in preparation for requests to city hall for monies to remodel and enlarge the library. The library board requested $11.5 million dollars to accomplish perpetual maintenance and expansion of facilities.

That number was doubled to $22.5 million dollars by city council to include a complete remodel and expansion, including the closure of a block of Cross Street. Now it would appear to me that city council should be saying: "How could I expect the library board to manage a significantly larger facility they didn't really want, with a reduced budget we have given them?"

I do not fault the library board for its inability to satisfy city council and the city's residents at the same time. I believe the board has taken the appropriate measures to reduce the operating budget by closing of the library by one day a week. I also believe that some additional measures should be incorporated, like reducing the lighting around the facility when it is not open. Charging Wheaton College students for library use. Charging rental fees for DVDs.

No measure should be incorporated to dismiss volunteer public servants who give freely of their time to do what is now a thankless job. No person should suffer ridicule for differing opinions. After all, they are the recipients of a doomed philosophy espoused by people who are not actively sitting in their shoes dealing with the issue. The dismissal of these citizens will only make others think twice when approached to serve on a board or commission.

Tom Rajcan

Wheaton