Naperville mayoral candidates debate library spending. (Daily Herald, 3/2/2011)
Excerpt: Naperville Public Library officials believe they’ve been as frugal as can be in recent years without affecting services.
Naperville’s three mayoral candidates in the April 5 election mostly agree, but challengers Kenn Miller and Doug Krause believe the library can do more to help the city’s bottom line.
Library officials already have sliced $400,000 from their proposed 2011 property tax levy and are waiting to learn if the city will take any more. They’ve also seen a 21 percent decrease in spending on collections since fiscal 2008 and the reduction of more than four full-time employees at a savings of $211,000 since fiscal 2009.
Miller, a Naperville councilman, said the city should be proud of the library’s decade of nationally ranked service but said it needs to “play a part” during the economic crisis.
“They do an excellent job and I fully support the library, however when we’re in this economic downturn, all of the departments, including the library, need to play a part in reducing the cost so we overall are reducing the costs to residents and taxpayers,” he said.
Related articles:
Another take on the library budget situation. (1/17/2011)
Library trims its budget. (1/15/2011)
Library to offer voluntary buyouts. (4/3/2010)
Library cuts $1.1 million from budget. (10/16/2009)
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