As we may all recall from our high school physics classes, every action has a reaction. The action began as Governor LePage proposed suspension of revenue sharing to municipalities in his state budget. Many of our legislators tried their best to fund this very important revenue source, but in the end, municipalities grappled with less money to fund services. Towns began to weigh the importance of public safety versus public roads; support for cultural services versus city services. All the cuts seemed drastic, but decisions had to be made as communities dealt with this fiscal blow.
Gardiner City Councilors weighed many options before reacting. Budget cuts were made throughout all city departments so that local residents would not have to bear the brunt of increased property taxes. Many city services are intact because councilors thoughtfully pared back on upcoming projects and potential purchases.
Unfortunately, cuts needed to be made; it was the only reaction Gardiner City Council could make in order to keep a tax increase at bay. Councilors were forced to vote in a budget that included zero funding for the satellite library at our local Boys and Girls Club. For more than a decade staff at the Gardiner Public Library and the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Gardiner worked in partnership to bring kids and books together. The library hummed with activity as professional library staff hooked kids into reading and teens anxiously awaited a new shipment of books to their very special library. That library will soon be empty and the books will be integrated into the public library as much as possible. There will be no special place for our community’s teenagers to create a habit of lifelong learning in a space that is warm and inviting. Throughout the state these difficult choices are being made because state government failed to fully fund revenue sharing. These Solomon choices will only get worse next year.
At a time when our children are falling behind on reading skills, it is a very bad day when a library closes. Actions do lead to reactions though I wish that the outcome could have been different.
Anne Davis, Library Director
