FeedsWhat’s next for district library plan?
Should there be a district library in the three communities, or not?
Officials in Van Buren and Sumpter townships as well as the City of Belleville agree that the move would make sense, but disagree on how to get there.
The issue came up again Monday night at the Belleville City Council meeting, after Councilman George Chedraue questioned the need for the District Library Planning Committee to continue with their charge.
The committee, comprised of a member of each community, was given the task of evaluating the need for a district library and how to get the project off the ground. They came up with a recommendation last year that was accepted by Van Buren Township, rejected by Belleville and not acted on by Sumpter.
“They did what they were asked to do,” Chedraue said. “It’d be hard to go back to the committee and ask them to negotiate.”
The three communities investigated the district library concept as a way to save funds and have more control over the operation.
The Fred Fisher Library is currently part of the Wayne County Library Network, an affiliation that is growing more and more expensive as other member libraries drop out. Because it’s part of the Wayne County system, all employees are hired by Wayne County, according to Belleville Mayor Richard Smith.
“Under a district library system we would have more control, including control over who is hired,” he said.
A district library would operate under its own millage, as well, which is something on which voters would have to agree. The library is currently funded though a shared-services formula by each of the municipalities based on population with Van Buren Township contributing between 65-75 percent. If a district library would be approved, the funds now contributed would be available for other uses.
The current funding formula provides the foundation for one of the reasons members of the Belleville City Council rejected the proposal last year. The recommendation called for a district library board made up of four Van Buren residents, two Sumpter Township residents and one Belleville resident.
Cindy King, supervisor of Van Buren Township, said Van Buren should have more initial representation than the other communities because the township contributes more funding.
“I’m not sure we would consider a composition that is less than that,” she said.
Chedraue and other members of the city council took issue with that, though.
“We should have equal representation, not just be told because you’re the smallest, you’ll get what we tell you,” said Chedraue.
The original—or provisional—board would serve until the first library board election. Candidates for the board would come from the district as a whole.
Mayor Pro Tem Rick Dawson said he had a problem with another recommendation presented by the committee—that the land the library sits on be deeded over to the district library board. The site is in the city. It was donated to Belleville by the Fred Fisher foundation in order to house a library.
He said he wanted the committee to try to come up with another solution.
“You have to start someplace. This is just that, a beginning,” he said. “You can’t think of things as mine, the city’s. It’s not. You have to think of the region. We’re not just a city, we’re a community.”
The committee—and the recommendation—has done little since the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees tabled the issue in November. Smith said officials there indicated they were waiting to see the next course of action from the city before they took up the agenda item again.
The problem with that, according to former Mayor Tom Fielder, is one of time. Voters have to sign off on the proposal before plans can get under way and the November election is rapidly approaching. The deadline to get something on the ballot is in September.
“Right now, we’re looking at two years,” he said. “These issues can at least be discussed by the three communities.
“I’d hate to see us miss the window of opportunity this year,” he added.
