Victim of the budget shortfall, The City of Franklin's sole public space and community gathering point is now closed for ENTIRE WEEKENDS for the balance of the summer. Go home to your Wii; nothing to see here.
From FranklinNow.com:
Library faces another chapter on budget cuts
Facility will be closed Saturdays through Sept. 5
As part of a mandate to cut budgets by 4 percent, the Franklin Public Library will close on Saturdays during August and on Sept. 5.
Library Board President Dennis McKnight said the board had to make "substantial" cuts in order to meet the order. In addition to closing on Saturdays, the board also cut back in other ways, including on spending for books and materials, he said.
Board members thought closing the library on two consecutive days - Saturday and Sunday - would lead to greater savings on utility and air-conditioning costs, McKnight said.
It made more sense than closing for a week at a time, and doing it during August avoids a closure during the school year, he added.
"It wasn't an easy decision," McKnight said. "We cut a lot of different things rather than one big thing. … We certainly did not want to do it."
Mayor Thomas Taylor this summer asked all city department leaders to trim their budgets by 4 percent this year as one of several cost-saving measures to make up for a potential deficit.
He also told department heads to prepare to make more cuts by as much as 15 percent.
Seems to me that if they wanted to close the building on two consecutive days, Sunday and Monday would make a lot more sense. It would remain open for folks who can't make it there during the week, and would still be open four of five weekdays for everyone else. Does the library really get more use on a Monday than on a Saturday that it makes more sense to close on Saturdays?
Posted by: Dodson | August 13, 2009 at 10:33 AM
Unfortunately, I expect to see the Milwaukee Public Libraries to see even greater cuts next summer....
Posted by: Dave Reid | August 13, 2009 at 10:44 AM