/Perry County library closing not a simple story

Perry County library closing not a simple story

A green sheet of paper is placed beneath the notice from county. It conceals a notice that said: “Budget cuts effect local services.” … Supervisors approved the budget last week at their meeting. There were budget cuts that most affect all offices in the county. The computers cannot accept newer updates because the computer system is outdated. Bobby Bolton, a Perry County Board of Supervisors member, wrote Sept. 20 that the library’s floors needed to be polished and explained that the county couldn’t afford to pay for the support of the library due to “decreased revenues from state and Federal sources and unfunded mandates by the State each year.” Felicia Noland, a local resident, asks “Why would anyone close the library?” “It’s a shameful decision for a small community.” Critics say it is a shame that a library which has been a symbol of community unity and vitality, will be closed. Although the closure of a small-town library may seem like a minor inconvenience to Jackson’s budget crunchers, the controversy highlights the hard choices that local government leaders must make in these uncertain economic times. The Pine Forest Regional Library System manages eight branches, including New Augusta’s. It is located at the intersection 1st Street & 8th Avenue. It was established in 1958 to balance the rural South Mississippi library needs and the costs of operating them. The original members of this system were Wayne, Covington and Lamar counties. However, only Perry, Greene, and Stone counties remained in 2013. In 2009, Covington County spent $92,850 on library support. After Covington resigned and created its own library system, funding for the system became more difficult. Perry County was the next largest contributor to Covington. However, support fell from $83,000 in 2011 down to $60,000 in 2014. The library system’s funding will be more difficult now that Perry has withdrawn as a member. The Pine Forest Regional Library System’s budget proposal 2016 shows that the system received $65,000 for Green County, $65,000 to Stone County, $58,550 for Perry County, and $87,466 through the Mississippi Library Commission’s Personnel Incentive Grant Program. This is for the administrative headquarters, which is located on the second floor at Richton’s library. The Mississippi Library Commission grants grants each fiscal year to support library finances in the state. The Commission’s Personnel Incentive Grant Program provides additional funding to libraries depending on their size, the presence of a system manager with a master’s in library science, and other accreditation standards. Perry County could take not only its county contributions, but also some state grant money for personnel. Paul Walley, an attorney representing the Perry County Board of Supervisors says that the county’s decision to not fund the library is the result of years of poor communication with the Pine Forest Regional Library System. Walley stated that Charles Cox, the director of the library system, hadn’t submitted budget requests or reports for several years. The county funds the library system each year by resolution. They are required to submit a budget request every July. This is how it works. Walley explained that you receive your request in July, then you have your hearing in August and then approve or reject it. We hadn’t received requests from them for years. Walley stated that the library budget was primarily used for administrative expenses, which is adding to the friction between the library system and the county. He stated that the last budget was the best one we could find. The amount they spent on books and periodicals was very little of the budget they had for running the library. Perry County was requested to contribute $58,500 in fiscal year 2016. A tech grant is expected to bring in $12,500. Fines and fees are expected to generate $1600 to support Perry County libraries, which will total $72,700. The budget allocated $34,522 to payroll, and $31,379 to operations. This includes the cost for a yearly audit and bond payment, insurance, and other similar expenses. According to the budget proposals, $950 would be used for periodicals and books, while $3,000 would be used for office expenses, programming, mail, and travel. Mississippi Today was provided with budget documents from Pine Forest Library System that revealed their proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2016. It was $119,483. The state library commission grants provided $87,466 of that amount. According to the budget document, Greene County contributed $8,178 towards the administrative headquarters. Perry County branches received $58,500 from Perry. Walley stated, “People will often ask you, “Well, we need to have a library for our children.” “And no one wants to decrease any asset for the children. The children attend school most of the time the library is open. They were closed on Saturdays. They don’t have Saturday hours.” He added that they wouldn’t alter their hours to make it open in the evenings when children could go, or on Saturdays. Walley stated that if it were all about the kids, then the hours would not be geared towards them. A major problem for the Perry County board was the way the board dealt with Cox, the library system director. Walley stated that Cox was not always available to attend meetings. He was not forthcoming, and didn’t like being asked why they were doing what they did. He was not open to the idea of changing, amending or lowering the budget. “…There was not very good communication between he and the county.” The library system’s 2013 charter states that each county nominates two members to its board of trustees. Perry County appointed Sharron Lott as its second representative for fiscal year 2013. This position had been vacant for many years. Lott called Cox to confirm the location and time of the quarterly board meeting. She claims Cox said that Perry County didn’t want the library to be supported and Perry County didn’t deserve representation. The board minutes of the library system only mention Lott’s absence at the January 2013 meeting. Charles Cox told Mississippi Today a different story when he spoke to us. He stated that the Pine Forest Regional Library System had been doing its job and that the Perry County supervisors were the ones who have been most difficult to reach. Cox stated that Linda Bolton, the head librarian for two Perry County libraries, told him in 2007 that the lights had gone out at Runnelstown’s library branch and the air conditioner was not working. Cox advised her to limit her time at Runnelstown library branch in order to avoid any liability. He advised her to contact Perry County Board of Supervisors. He said that the county owned the building and would have to pay for the repairs. Cox received a call from Bolton. She said that they were going to fix the heat. We called the county to find out that it was stolen. They didn’t arrive to get it. Someone lifted the damn thing. It was a county that didn’t know anything about it.” Cox claims that he wrote a letter to Perry County supervisors the following spring about problems at Runnelstown. Cox claims he did not receive a reply. Cox stated that he had decided to remove all county property from the Runnelstown site, before it was damaged by the cold. These included books and computers. He said that he spread them among the three other libraries. “When they found out, they asked him, ‘What’s the matter with Runnelstown closing?’ How many times can I contact them? I called. My assistant director contacted them. How long is that supposed to take? What should we do? Cox stated that he would not allow an employee to be left in the building with these conditions. “That’s an OSHA offense.” Cox told Mississippi Today that he had handed audit reports from 2005 to Cox, two years prior to his employment at the library. Cox states that the audits and budget requests are delivered to supervisors by county representatives. Mississippi Today could not reach Gertrude Broom (the Perry County library representative) to find out if she had presented the documents to the supervisors. Cox and Walley both pointed to declining forestry revenue as the root cause of funding problems for the library. Walley stated that the Pine Forest Library System is funded by Perry County through appropriations from its general fund. “With less forest money coming in, it has been tight,” Natalie Harvison, County Administrator, said. There are many people who have graduated into the over 65 tax rate. You have a younger generation who would pick up the slack but there is no industry that will keep them around.” Nearly half of Perry County is occupied by DeSoto National Forest. For timber sales, the county was awarded compensation that covered everything from libraries to public schools. Timber sales have dropped. The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act was passed by Congress in 2000. It provided a temporary subsidy that was based on historical revenue, rather than the actual revenues from forests sales. Walley stated that Congress has reauthorized this act several times, but without a steady stream of income from forest sales, cuts must be made. “Cutting the library wasn’t because of (Cox). Kevin Shows, president of Perry County Board of Supervisors stated that the library was cut because they didn’t have enough money. “We lost so many (forest) funds, and we had so few unfunded mandates. There’s always something to be done when that happens. “The library wasn’t alone to suffer.” Perry County cut funding to regional libraries as well as agencies like the Health Department (which was cut by $46,000), the Area Development Partnership (which saved $25,000), and the Soil and Water Conservation District (which was cut by $18,000). Harvison stated that the National Forest has had a significant impact on our economy. Harvison stated that if land owned by private individuals or timber companies was taxed, it would make a significant difference in Perry County. However, Susan Cassagne is the executive director of Mississippi Library Commission and says that cutting libraries during times of economic uncertainty can prove to be detrimental for an area. Cassagne stated that studies have shown libraries are more important in times of economic stress than ever before. The library is essential for children whose parents don’t have access to the internet. People who are not working and don’t have access to the internet or a computer at home may be out of luck. Cassange stated that they need to access the library. “Most jobs can be applied online. Even if they had internet at the beginning, they would likely have to cut it from their budget if they lost their job. Felicia Noland, a mother-of-four, said that while there wasn’t much for children here, the library was stocked with books, movies, and other community events. It’s a wonderful place. She said that she believes that many kids in the area get into trouble because they don’t have access to places like the library. Tristan Spiers’ son remembers frequenting the library as a young child. He used it to get ideas for science fair projects and he still goes there today. He doesn’t go as often now, and he didn’t know that the New Augusta library was closed until he asked. Spiers stated that “things just keep moving away from New Augusta.” We lost two groceries, the Greer’s, and the Food Tiger. “Now we’re losing these.” Perry County and the New Augusta library system are under severe strain. This makes it difficult to provide public services such as internet access from New Augusta._x000D