Participation is key to achieving the focus, organization and information needed to help ensure our public funding is aligned with our values. Citizens can (and should) lead the need to increase the responsiveness and accountability of our governing bodies. We need to communicate clearly and constructively with our town officials so they’ll know what is
◊ Funding ◊
Funding what we value: information
Given the availability of sophisticated, low-cost publishing tools, it is reasonable to expect better information from all levels of government. In this context, better means: integrated, timely, informative, personalized, interactive, and multi-channel. Integrated – it’s costly and ineffective for town departments to have individual websites. Municipal information needs to be available from a central, well-organized
Funding what we value: organization
Conventional municipal budget & reporting practices make it difficult to answer simple questions like “How much of our annual budget is allocated to [insert department name or expense line here]?” In West Boylston, for example, health insurance costs and debt service fall into two general buckets and are not linked back to the originating departments.
Funding what we value: focus
I applaud our town leaders for initiating the SWOT analysis. In fact, an annual survey of resident values, needs and preferences should become standard governing practice. A successful survey would be: Thoughtful – concise & well-organized with questions that make sense. Comprehensive – one survey covering all departments rather than multiple surveys from individual departments.
Funding what we value: intro
At West Boylston’s April 15th Select Board meeting, the Town Administrator outlined the process and results for a recently conducted analysis to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to our community. During a five hour session with 17 volunteer residents, the Beaman Library surfaced as one of the top 3 community strengths. Ironically, the
The ALA needs an advocacy injection
The risk to the Beaman Public Library piqued my interest in public libraries about a month ago and I’ve been checking out what other people and organizations have to say. The ALA has been a big disappointment. Its Library Advocate’s Handbook is buried deep within the ALA website. This handbook is barely worth searching for
Ever met a boisterous librarian?
In its excellent 2008 report, From Awareness to Funding, the OCLC cites 2005 data that more than a third of U.S. public libraries are operating with level or declining budgets and “are being forced to reduce staff, cut hours and reduce community services.” Our town has seen this, with cuts to its library budget 4
We can’t race to the bottom
Responding to pressure from beleagured public libraries, Massachusetts legislators have proposed temporarily waiving certification requirements. Mass Library Commissioner George Comeau reportedly does not support this measure, stating that it would “result in an ‘open season’ on cutting library budgets“. I couldn’t agree more. This would sanction a variant of the “race to the bottom” we’ve
Clueless about the crisis
I’ve been in “all hands on deck” mode for the past month, since learning of the pronouncement that West Boylston has no money for our public library. I’ve attended meetings and been in daily contact with library staff, Friends and a newly formed Advocates Group. One of the many things I’ve learned is that this
More than a lack of funds
As reported in the Boston Globe, the public libraries in Freetown, Norton, Hubbardston and Wareham have lost their certification “because, in the state’s view, the communities went too far in slashing their budgets.” The coastal community of Rockport also faced budgetary pressures and received the funding necessary to maintain certification without applying for a waiver.
