Support Emerges for Naugatuck Library

While Monday’s public hearing on the proposed $109 million budget , there was another vocal contingency that was actually asking for money: the .

The library asking for a 4.3 percent increase in funding, or $25,000, for the 2012-13 fiscal year. The joint Board of Mayor and Burgesses and Board of Finance initially agreed to a 2.2-percent hike or $13,000.

But following the latest budget meeting last week, the boards stripped that increase, instead agreeing to a flat $577,000 budget for the library in the next fiscal year.

A group of library supporters, as well as members of its Board of Directors and staff, came out to voice their opposition to that cut. They asked the joint board consider reinstating the money, saying the library offers a place for residents to search for jobs, fax resumes and an array of other necessities beyond just checking out books and DVDs.

“I think it’s an asset that needs to be protected,” said Bill Hass, head of the library's Board of Directors.

The library is a private organization, although it obtains 80 percent of its funding through the borough. The Board of Finance decreased the library’s budget five years ago from $587,000 to $577,000. The board also previously denied a $100,000 capital expenditure to fix the library’s roof, and library officials had to take from its private endowment to fund that project.

“We’re not just a place where students go to get a book,” said Matthew Yanarella, the children's librarian. He then pointed to all the programmed content, such as summer reading and other initiatives, which draw in children and families to the library each year.

Library Director Jocelyn Miller noted the library stepped in just after both Tropical Storm Irene and the October snowstorm as a community charging place and warming station. Residents were also able to get food and water there. She also noted the library recently opened up again on Mondays, and has seen steady traffic that day, as well as the rest of the week.

The library even gained support from an unlikely ally during the public hearing. Alec Wargo, an outspoken opponent to spending increases who criticized the borough government through most of the hearing, actually stood up at the podium and said the library deserves more funding because it is of “equal or more value” to other municipal departments.

“They’re doing something or basically nothing at all, and they should get additional funding,” Wargo said.

The joint boards will debate the entire budget during a meeting on Thursday.