Thursday, December 9, 2010

Galesburg, Illinois: The Potato Chip Analogy and Library Funding


Link to December 6 Galesburg Register-Mail article, "Library gets its tax levy".

Excerpt: Galesburg resident Jim Jacobs, who spoke in favor of more funding for the library, held a bag of potato chips aloft at Monday’s meeting. He said the increase in taxes to support the library would cost homeowners about the price of the chips.

“In all due respect, you have no history and now that you’ve taken a job elsewhere you have no future here,” Jacobs said to Whitehead, who will leave for a job in Utah before the end of this month.

The library has $1.3 million in reserves. Library officials have been saving that money for future capital improvements and as a potential down-payment on a new library to replace the existing building. The library’s current home was originally intended as a temporary facility after Galesburg’s former library burned down.

Jacobs said the library should not be punished for being fiscally prudent and that the library’s reserves were never intended for operations. Without an increase in the levy, the library board was considering cutbacks
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Related article: 
Building a common agenda continues to elude Galesburg City Council and Library Board (12/4/2010)
Library looks at bare-bones budget.  (8/21/2010)

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