Immersed in a heavy air of futility created by a disagreed-upon section of the Ridgefield town charter Tuesday evening, the Board of Finance discussed and ultimately refused the March 13 standalone referendum for a $5 million contribution to the library renovation earlier approved by the Board of Selectmen.
Besides that, though, nothing really changes.
With a vote of 3-2 against the early referendum -- Board Chair Dave Ulmer, Vice-Chair Paul Sutherland and Jill Bornstein opposed -- the vote has little bearing on what is to come, but the board held a lengthy discussion nonetheless regarding the details of the renovation and the implications of an early vote.
All five members at the table approved the agreement set forth by both the Board of Selectmen and the Library Board but disagreed about the timing of the referendum which is to take place roughly two months before the regular budget vote in May.
Despite their votes, all five members at some point showed concern for the implications of an early referendum.
Ulmer said, as others have before him, that voter turnout is something to think about.
"We can get up to 35 percent of the voters out in a regular referendum, and in a special referendum it can be about half of that," Ulmer said. "The more voters that approve this, the more comfortable we'll be with it."
Besides turnout, finance board members invoked the voters' experience as a reason to wait for the May referendum -- for voters to see the library renovation as one of many requests made by departments in Ridgefield, it would put the decision in context.
With the vote taking place two months before the rest of the budget, the library would stand alone as a separate capital item.
"The annual budget process is there to give voters a look at all the costs to the town," Bornstein said. "It belongs as a part of the budget process."
A town meeting and public hearing will take place 7:30 p.m. tonight (Wed.) at Veterans Park Elementary School to discuss the library project.
"“I personally believe that it is best practice to have all capital items in a May referendum so that everyone voting can prioritize the capital expenses as they see best for our Town. Which is why I strongly support the library being part of the May referendum.” Then she voted to have the referendum in March.
Withhold and deceive info re SLB and then schedule a referendum before the environmental detail is complete ---why? Because they are trying to push stuff through---spend money. Now the library --and 5 more million.
So she went with what she felt was her legal obligation.
Also, the fact that Ulmer and Sutherland voted against the March referendum, and they are probably the two smartest people on any board anywhere in this town, then obviously there is nothing wrong with the BOF voting against the measure. So there is no legal obligation to vote against something and I'm still left wondering about Jessica's reasoning.
Just to be sure I understand --I am unfamilar with the charter--so you are saying that the BOF gets to dictate when a referendum is? That would seem odd. I would have thought setting the dates and terms of a referendum, would be under the purview of the BOS. Could you please possibly, copy and paste the item in the town charter that says the BOF is in charge of setting the referendum date. Id be interested in this. Thanks, confused.
Jesisica might have been the only one to read the charter.
I never said a vote would violate a charter. I said that it appears that Jessica thinks that the BOF cant override the BOS and therefore voted in a way that did not disrespect the BOS's authority on this issue. The message she sent--was verbally. I read it--and you read it. Hopefully the BOS can read or listen to the concerns of the BOF. You said you were confused? It sounds more like you think she is being stupid. And your intention is simply to try to ridicule her. If anyone is playing games, its you confused.
And libraries across the country are reporting heavy use increases since the recession due to folks researching jobs and people less able to afford book purchases, entertainment (like movies), and home internet use. They reported to their association that on an individual basis, library card holders went from 63% in 2006, to 68% in 2008. And for individual Americans, 66% had visited a library in the past year in 2006, but by 2008 that was 76%. Online visits to libraries increased from 24% of Americans in 2006, to 41% in 2008. Among adult library users, 74% were Americans age 35-45 (the heaviest rate). Since library use varies by average income, Ridgefield probably has one of the highest usage rates in the State. The DOE study found that 39% of library users borrowed books, 12% borrowed CDs & other AV material, 10% used the computer, 9% used reference, and 8% accessed the internet. 73% of libraries are the only source of free computer access in their area. More to come...
If you folks on this discussion board really care about library issues, I highly recommend the book I mentioned, Foundations of Library and Information Science, by Richard Rubin. And given the comment above, "Who in todays electronic field uses the library", you might try hanging out there a little more yourself, because apparently the answer to your question is: Everybody but you. DSB, New Milford, CT