Gunstock Water Distict BudCom Rep Thinks Library is EXTRA Special
The Gunstock Village Water District (my neighborhood) appointed Richard Young to represent us on the Gilford Budget Committee. During last week’s debate on the library budget he made a very passionate plea to encourage support for the larger requested library budget. His statement proclaimed; “the excellent services provided by the library says something about our community and is the jewel of our town. In these difficult times, the library will be used even more because its services are free for the people to use.”
Aside from the fact that it isn’t exactly “free” who could argue with the basic principle that the library provides a valued service to the community? His speech sounded wonderful to an audience lobbying for their portion of the budget but shouldn’t a Budget Committee member have a broader perspective? From my point of view, Richard Young should be mindful that all town services are the “jewels” of our town. The services provided by ALL town employees say something about our community and are equal to or more important than the library’s functions. Here are just a few examples of Gilford’s most essential services;
· The quality of the roads we drive on and appreciation for those that plow our roads through the night so that our children and families can travel safely to their destinations in the morning.
· The professional staff that register our cars and answers difficult questions regarding permits, services, fees and taxes.
· The Police department that protects us from those who wish to do us harm for personal gain, which may arguably increase in these difficult times.
· The Fire fighters who may get called out at 2 am in sub zero weather because someone had a mishap conserving money with an alternative heating method.
· Quality schools that further our children’s future success.
During Mr. Young’s comments he cites that he has no reason to question the requested budget because it had been vetted by both the Library Trustees and the Selectmen. Then what exactly does he think he’s doing on the Budget Committee if he can’t question proposed spending? Arguably, if the library received the same level of funding as last year, the consequences wouldn’t result in a major tragedy as compared to the above mentioned departments. That said, the Budget Committee has more than supported the Library. The Committee voted to fully support all the Library increases in the Buildings & Grounds budget and they only reduced the operating budget from a requested 7.46% increase down to a 4.5% increase. Last year the Committee approved a 6.8% increase over the previous year. Apparently this minor reduction is what upset Mr. Young enough to voice his concerns to the committee.
Every department is faced with increases in need yet manages to provide us with quality services each year within an average of a 3.5% budget increase. Some would argue that even that’s too high and budgeters’ seek to maintain quality services with less. Isn’t it only fair to the entire community that the Library do the same?
