The formula to determine a minimum funding amount for a free public library in New Jersey is about 125 years old, according to an article Plaintalker ran across online. Our own former city administrator, Marc Dashield, proposes cuts to the Montclair Public Library budget in this article from 2010 highlighted by the New Jersey Library Association.
As readers know, the mayor here wants to cut library funding to the minimum 1/3 mil, a position conveyed by budget consultant David Kochel Wednesday night for the administration. Read Plaintalker's post here.
The council is holding budget deliberations and has made no decisions yet on amendments. Library officials have been invited back on May 10 for further discussion.
Thursday night's deliberations covered Planning, Economic development, Community Development and the Municipal Court. No major news came out of the session. The next one is 7 p.m. May 1 in City Hall Library and will cover the Senior Center, Plainfield Action Services, the WIC program, Bilingual Daycare and the Health Division as well as the office of the Corporation Counsel.
The latter may be of interest this year especially because Dan Williamson, who has held the post in the current administration since 2006, is leaving to become executive director of the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority as of July 1. The city has had an in-house law office since 1998 and the corporation counsel is the highest-paid member of the cabinet.
Williamson will be in charge of the autonomous authority that provides sewer and solid waste services to city households and which has become increasingly controversial in recent years. See Mark Spivey's article here.
--Bernice
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It is peculiar that the Mayor submitted a budget with $155K+ for the Library and then, when it is in the Council's hands, says it should be much less.
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