A Matter of Investment

Plenty of people have written and talked about -- and will write and talk about -- how important it is to preserve funding for the library to maintain state certification and kick an important community asset to the curb.

If you've missed it, the City Council -- saying it's just like any other department -- is considering cuts to the library budget that would cause the library to lose state certification. That would mean a loss of about $73,000 in state aid, and that the library would essentially become a self-contained unit. Your Fitchburg library card would be no good at other area libraries, for example.

All of those reasons are good ones to protect the library's budget from the $755 in cuts that would lose certification. However, there's a financial argument that makes the most sense.

All departments, despite some councilors' views, are not equal. Some have -- or at least should -- have more importance, and the city should do what it can to protect those departments. Schools should be the ultimate priority, with public safety next, as far as I'm concerned. Add in the intricacies of state law -- like minimum education funding and that kind of thing, and all departments clearly aren't the same.

Beyond the emotional embarassment of having a subpar library through more cuts is the fact that making the cuts would result in a loss of $73,000 in state aid. The library budget has already been cut just short of $49,000 from 2007 to 2008. Why not hold the line and maintain that $73,000? It's a wise investment of city money at this point.

Let's say the council wanted to cut another $20,000 out of the library budget. Keeping that $20,000 would realize $73,000 -- or over a 3:1 return on the money. Cutting that $20,000 is really like cutting $93,000, if you want to see it a different way.

In short, it makes no financial sense to cut the library any more than $754. It's an investment that will not only maintain some dignity for the library, but also is a smart use of the city's money. And considering how scarce it is, using it wisely is of utmost importance.