Please support the Library at budget hearings on Tuesday June 14

The library’s budget for FY23 has been level funded. This means
that the budget for next year is the same as this year with a tiny
increase. As you know, we spent most of this year in the small
temporary space- not in the full two floor new library. Last year’s
budget was for the temporary space-not the new library. The
budget is not sufficient to support the new library. There is not
enough funding for cleaning and there is ABSOLUTELY NO
FUNDING for maintenance of the building systems. Think about
that-- the library budget does not include ANY funding for
maintenance of this brand-new building.

Funding for staffing will also be at an unsupportable level. In the
next year, programming will be reduced, and the children’s
department will be closed on days when there are not enough
staff to cover. Because requests for added staffing for the current
year’s budget were refused, we are already in trouble and will not
be able to be open on Saturdays this summer.

When we asked for your help to get the library’s construction
funding passed, you supported us. And again, when we asked for
donations, over 1200 people contributed. Please help us now- we
want to make this library wonderful but we can’t operate without
resources and staff.

The Budget Hearing is at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers on
Tuesday June 14, 2022

Thank you –

The Trustees and Staff of the Medford Public
Library