There is absolutely nothing 'conservative' or 'fiscally responsible or 'representative' in what the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners have been doing to our public library system. As the letter below very concisely conveys, the county commissioners are subverting the will of the people.
What is it about elected politicians these days that when the electorate speaks and makes a decision, the politicos still think they can ignore the will of the people and just do what they want?
The best remedy to the "we know best" shenanigans of these county commissioners is to remove them from the funding process, remove them as a layer of government between the people and the operation of our libraries -- and establish a library district in Jefferson County.
Of course, these commissioners will fight tooth-and-nail against any diminution of their power and control ... it is what elected politicians tend to do regardless of political party.
A healthy library system is an asset to a community that is incalculable. A well-supported library bespeaks of citizen involvement, of prosperity, of dedication to education.
If you haven't already, go to Save Jeffco Libraries and offer your support.
Published in YourHub.com for Arvada, Wheat Ridge and Westminster on Thursday, January 5, 2012:
In a recent YourHub letter, Pam Nissler, executive director of the Jefferson County Public Library, explained the library’s serious revenue decline and urged us all to donate to the Library Foundation. We agree. But that’s not the whole story.Nissler said the library has experienced a $3.4 million decline in revenue since 2008. The interesting question is why? Most of that decline was not caused by tough economic times, but by the Jefferson County Commissioners diverting property tax revenues out of a mill levy voters approved for library services only. In order to increase taxes in Social Services (a good cause but an increase voters did NOT approve), the county took that money out of the taxpayer-approved library levy.
Let’s be clear about the real reason for these library service cuts, layoffs, and reduction in hours: they are paying for the Commissioners’ monkey-business with our taxes. If the library operated as an independent library district like Arapahoe, Douglas, and most other front-range counties, these cuts would not have been necessary. It’s time to get county government out of the library’s business.
By all means, donate to the Library Foundation. It helps fund important programs. But let’s also ensure that the tax money we approved for library services actually gets to the library! Visit www.savejeffcolibraries.org to see what you can do to help.
Tom and Alice Atkins
Founders, Save Jeffco Libraries
Tom is a former chairman of the Jefferson County Public Library Board of Trustees
Comments