UPDATE: SEE END OF STORY FOR COMMENTS FROM CARY AFRICK
While the future of Montclair’s Bellevue Library branch is uncertain, the Montclair town council passed a bill appropriation giving the Montclair libraries $225,781.04.
However, before the council voted, Second Ward Councilor Cary Africk asked Mayor Jerry Fried if the libraries will take down their “Budget Cuts Library Closed Today” signs that sit in front of the libraries. Africk said that he has letters sent to him from residents saying the signs offend them and he agreed, saying that he thinks that are in “poor taste.”
Africk, who has brought this matter up before at council meetings, said that everyone has faced budget cuts and that if every place who had budget cuts hung up signs like that, the town would be filled with them.
The Montclair Public Library is now open six days a week instead of seven because of budget cuts, while the Bellevue Branch Library is open only one day a week.
Tonight, the library task force will meet to discuss the future of the Bellevue Branch library. Options include it remaining a library, being shut down and sold or turned into something else.
Mayor Fried, who is a member of the library board, said he didn’t find the signs offensive and suggested that Africk come to the next library board meeting to address the issue.
Before Africk voted in favor of the appropriation, he said he will vote in favor this time, but next time if the signs aren’t down, his vote may change.
Mayor Fried replied while laughing, “those are fighting words.”
UPDATE: Cliff Kulwin, head of the library board, said the signs have been removed and if they were up recently it was a mistake. Kulwin said the signs were taken down because they “have fulfilled their purpose of notifying the public.”
UPDATE from Cary Africk:
I’ve been unable to post a reply because of “log in” issues from my iPad. But here’s the response:
Before making the comment at the recent Council meeting about the library signs, I brought it up in a “smaller” less public session — the Council Conference meeting.
During our discussions of the library, the Mayor reminded the Council that day to day operations were the responsibility of the library administration, and the Library Board which he chairs. He reminded us that the Council has, by statute, no “control” or say in how things are done. The Council only has the “power of the purse” which I chose to use after my first efforts failed.
In life, attitude means a great deal. Our Community is under enormous pressure to reduce costs, dramatically. I feel we are in a fiscal crisis. For others, it’s really business as usual, i.e. we survived last year’s cuts “relatively” painlessly so why not assume 2011 will be the same.
As a Community we will succeed if we all pull together. We have to stop pitting groups against groups, the tendency for which will only increase in 2011 as the Manager and Council seriously address cuts for police and fire.
We cannot have the lobby of the police station with a sign saying “budget cuts, come back tomorrow to report your crime.” Ditto fire. We can’t have a sign in Nishuane park saying the long grass is due to budget cuts. You all get the picture, I’m sure.
Let’s address our problems, together. Let’s not blame. It won’t get us the results we achieve. At the same time, let us look for realistic assessments of where we are, and let’s set priorities.
Cary Africk
2nd Ward Councilor
IMO they have every right to display that sign if in fact, the Library is closed due to budget cuts.
Agreed. They are breaking no laws.
Who paid for those signs and how much did they cost.
I don’t think anyone questioned the legality of the signs, just their tackiness. I agree with Cary.
It really sends a great message to potential home buyers. Every organization in town that has had funding cut by the Town should do the same. Should all the taxpayers in town put signs up on their lawns too, displaying their displeasure and concern with the continued tax increases that continue year after year? Very thought provoking… i think not. The sign is a ridiculous, self absorbed display and the library should be ashamed of themselves.
Cary,
What should the sign say:
“Closed because of an decrease in monetary inflow.”
“Closed because libraries are LESS important than other Town services.”
“Closed because 6 days a week is plenty- 7 was just overkill.”
Or is it just that you think we residents can’t be told the truth?
Or maybe, just maybe, it’s closed- once a week- because of mold…..
Sure, the sign is probably legal, but it is in poor taste.
Hey, kids: if you ever do go in the library, look up the word “petulant” to see a description of the mindset behind the sign.
Though, the signs are deceptive. There has been a huge drop in local revenue and state aid (state revenue). So, of course their budgets were cut. Perhaps they should also put a sign up that says, even though our budgets were cut, we are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on wayfinding carpeting. In Montclair, capital budgets don’t matter do they?
As a city service the Library works for us. They are our employees. They’re under the control of the manager and council. The signs are an attempt at political lobbying which is not the purpose of the library. The council/manager should order the signs removed.
I think it’s a bit absurd however to let such minutiae determine Africk’s future appropriation votes. Juvenile even. Is he really going to withhold library funding over the signs?
In the cause of detail and accuracy (what librarian could be against that?) the wording should just change to: “Due to unsustainable taxation and poor governance, Library closed today”
“While the future of Montclair’s Bellevue Library branch is uncertain, the Montclair town council passed a bill appropriation giving the Montclair libraries $225,781.04.”
What’s a “bill appropriation” Kristie? Did you mean to say a “bill appropriating…” or is this an appropriation in order to pay a “bill” as in an invoice of some kind? It’s totally unclear what the $225K is for. What’s that appropriation for? Can’t the writing express a clear meaning here? Really.
As much as I understand the reason behind the tax cuts, the library has the right to express its collective opinion about it. I don’t think they went over the top here. And it’s no secret to anyone that nearly every town has had service cuts of some sort so I don’t think thje sign will affect property values. Just in case someone was wondering, “Why did the library cut its hours?” Well, there’s your answer.
“As much as I understand the reason behind the tax cuts, the library has the right to express its collective opinion about it.”
Not if their bosses tell them not to, they don’t.
I got an idea….raise taxes and keep the library open !! Oh, wait, people don’t want higher taxes.
I got another idea, lower taxes and close the library !! Oh, wait, people don’t want services cut either.
P.S.
The library does not exist for the purpose of the employees expressing their “collective” opinions about anything. Express you’re opinions on your own time with your own resources.
Express your opinions…
I just find it ironic that a public library, which stands for free expression on one level, cannot express itself freely.
But I would like to know the decision behind the sign as well. Was it decided by consensus? Who had the initial idea? Were taxpayer dollars used to make the sign? All pertinent questions.
“I just find it ironic that a public library, which stands for free expression on one level, cannot express itself freely.”
PR firms exist to further communication. Image a disgruntled group of employees at a PR firm putting a sign on the door: “this firm suck and has bad management”.
Do the employees have the right to “express themselves freely”?
“imagine a disgruntled…”
How about banding together as a community, it is certainly no secret that we are in a very very serious fiscal situation in this town. Deep cuts need to be made. The library has chosen it’s own sand box on the playground and have chosen not to be team players here. Let’s be clear… they are funded by the taxpayers, who by the way are tapped out! It is the most immature diplay…boo hoo. BYW, who cares if tax dollars were used to make the cheap, crummy sign, it looks awful. If that’s your concern, file an OPRA report to find out.
Riddle me this Batman. Even after our budget cuts, we still fund our library at a substantially higher rate than many other towns. Yet when I volunteered to read at The Little Read, I was given a handout that stated our library could not even afford to buy books. How can this be? How can Bloomfield still afford books with $1.5M less and we cannot?
D&C and RoC have it right on this topic. Just expressing my opinion.
My understanding from library folks is that part of the reason the sign was worded that way was to explain to people why the library is now closed on Mondays (I don’t know who approved or made the signs). The staff got a lot of annoyed questions/complaints from both patrons who literally come every day and others who haven’t shown up in a while and expected the library to be open, and this was a simple way of explaining why the library was closed when they showed up. That’s not to say that the other part of the reasoning wasn’t to encourage residents to contact the council re: the budget cuts, since there were signs to that effect inside the library. Personally, I don’t find them in poor taste, it’s just a statement of the reality of the town’s fiscal situation. I wouldn’t mind of other departments had signs like that too. I’d like to think it would encourage people to speak up for the services they really value so that cuts could be made elsewhere to things that may not be so important to the community (does it result in squeaky wheel syndrome? possibly).
@njgator,
Seems like the taxpayer’s $$ would be better spent on auditors and forensic accountants than the “consultants” previously employed.
@Njgator, we had $2.5M in salaries!
The idea that every agency/business/person who has a gripe about something or other should advertise it on a sign has excellent cartoon potential. Couldn’t you picture Montclair being lampooned in a “Far Side” cartoon? Maybe an article in “The Onion” : “Area man peeved over 1. High Taxes, 2. Lack of Access to Free Newspapers & Periodicals, 3. Timing of Traffic Light at Belleview Ave. & Valley Rd., etc.
Kristie,
I can’t find any mention of the $250K library appropriation in last night’s agenda. Fried State Media (Patch) is not reporting it either.
Did this really happen?
I found it in the financial report.
That’s the monthly appropriation for the library.
I’d like to know where all that money goes. That’s enough to pay a staff of 60 @$50,000 per year. I know it’s not all salaries, but still. I’d love to see how that breaks down.
According to the Montclair Times …”Township Manager Marc D. Dashield, in a memo to the Township Council that he read aloud at the council’s meeting last night said the municipality has estimated next year’s budget is as high as $3.3 million over the state’s new, 2 percent tax levy cap.”
The article goes on to say that fire and police personnel may have to be cut.
Unfortunately, it seems to indicate that the target is to meet the 2% cap, not a zero growth budget.
Bloomfield works on a strick budget
“The article goes on to say that fire and police personnel may have to be cut.”
This is what we wasted money on just in this month alone:
$3200 – Montclair Arts Council, “Destination Montclair promotion”
$4686 – Send people to NJ League of Municipalities, “convention” in Atlantic City.
$3600 – Aboriculture Consulting Services.
$9400 – Montclair Arts Council, 4th Quarter Payment
$2371 – Baseball and Football T-Shirts
$2812 – Eagle Rock Lanes, Day Camp Bowling
$147,089 – Traffic Calming
$36,266 – Grass Recycling
I think the main question is in a very wealthy town, how are taxes constantly increasing and budgets continuously being cut, where is all this money going then.
The sign is a catch 22 pretty much.
“where is all this money going then.”
According to Scott White (same name as a High School Counselor at the High School) in a comment on Fried State Media (Patch), it seem that roughly 60% of the school budget (or $68 million) is spent on special education (18% of student body).
Mind you, “Special education” is any student needing a “IEP” (Individualized Education Plan) which includes disabled students as well as underperforming students.
Which is the reason, after all, why the schools need to hire 12 full time psychologists. To administer all the IEP’s!
If you really want a good public education you have to get a diagnosis!
http://www.empoweringparents.com/blog/school-and-homework/getting-an-iep-for-your-child/
Just doesn’t pay to have a normal child.
ROC, you couldn’t find it because it is located in the link for bill resolution, number 14 under new business.
http://www.montclairnjusa.org/dmdocuments/11-09-10_bill_list.pdf
I think they should just dispense books via vending machines…in malls.
With the Kindle, libraries may be obsolete one day…but that’s a long way off.
Like many others, I still like the look and feel of a real book.
It’s just too depressing. ROC and bebopgun are on the money. We need, ground up, institutional reform, not just throwing more money at an ineffectual solution.
Like many others, I still like the look and feel of a real book.
That’s nice. Why should your appreciation of real books be subsidized by other taxpayers?
Appletony, I am not the only one who feels that way.
Does anyone else find the fact that this prompted an article surreal?
I’m with ROC: “I think it’s a bit absurd however to let such minutiae determine Africk’s future appropriation votes. Juvenile even. Is he really going to withhold library funding over the signs?”
What’s with Africk’s weird ultimatums? If we think this Council is dysfunctional I fear an Africk-led council where not just “fighting words,” but entire battles are waged over ridiculous things like the Library telling people why it’s now closed on various days of the week. Common sense, please.
Most of the articles and threads that follow can head to the surreal pretty quickly. That’s the fun of it.
Cliff Kulwin, head of the library board says the signs “have fulfilled their purpose of notifying the public.”
and everyone else, would be property buyers included!
This is still a great town even though we, like most, are going through hard times. Poor perception through a tax paid for entity is just not right and can only diminish property values which is how they are sustained. Kind of insidious wouldn’t you say?
CLOSE the Bellevue Branch, we DON’T need 2 libraries.
Received today as part of my thank you for participating in The Little Read:
“In the next few weeks, all Montclair residents will be receiving a letter requesting a donation to support the Montclair Public Library Foundation. The Montclair Public Library’s allocation from the township was cut $450,000 this year. Your tax-deductible contribution is essential to maintaining library services, such an important part of the quality of life in Montclair. The library is that rare social insititution that serves everyone in town, but we need your help to continue to do so.”
The little read followed by a little bleed.
The sign is not in poor taste; it is just factual..If it said, “the &%$#@ government cut our &%$#@ funds and now we are only open one &%$#@ day,” it would be inappropriate.
“Let’s address our problems, together. Let’s not blame.”
Mostly let’s grow up. If you can’t force them to remove the signs you can embarrass them into doing so, which is apparently what happened. Lets not threaten funding of the whole institution in an equally petulant way (as the sign) over unimportant issues.
So the better threat Cary would be to withold your vote to approve the Mayor’s choice of trustees next time if the library is going to be managed in such a way.
http://www.njstatelib.org/LDB/Library_Law/lwes0001.php#392
I was in the library yesterday and I must say the urns in front filled with assorted fall plantings are lovely. The sign may not be as pretty but as Nellie said, is factual. It didn’t bother me.
Factual AND petulant. It is nothing more than bitching that “their” funds were cut. Sorry, but the source of “their” funds is our wallets and enough is enough is too much!
Spendthrifts with vanity projects (I’m looking at YOU, Bullock School extravaganza!) have backed us all into a corner, so the library refuses to quietly eat its vegetables like the rest of us now have to.
I don’t care whether or not the library is closed on any given day. But if the reason for the closure is budget cuts, then the sign is not an opinion; it’s a factual statement. And that’s not in poor taste, just reality.
“just reality”
Reality is perceived in many different manners to many different people.
I’m with ROC, who cares about signs. Where is the assessment on the property? The bid for hiring of a real estate firm? Let’s go, whether it be rental income or sale and new revenue from property taxes, LET’S GO!
Where are the bids for Lawns/Grounds upkeep at all municipal properties by private companies?
Where are the bids for Trash and Recycling by private companies?
Where are the RESOLUTIONS for these things. The incompetence is staggering. I am young, but man i wish time could speed up so their terms are up.
What in nature’s way are you all arguing about? Wake up, people. You are about to be ruined in the biggest catastrophe ever to face the human race, and you’re debating the merit of a sign? Perhaps you should put up one of these:
Library Closed Due to Pending Armageddon.
Library Closed Due to Extinction of the Human Race.
Library Free to All Rats and Cockroaches.