Library trustees and residents urge restoration of $23,107 for reference materials

Several Simsbury residents and library trustees told the Board of Selectmen on Feb. 28 that cuts to the library budget would harm services and asked the board to restore $23,107 for reference materials.

Maryanne O’Neil, who identified her address, thanked the town for 55 years of library support and asked that the board restore $23,107 for reference materials — an amount she described as "94 cents per capita." Holly McBeth, chair of the Library Board of Trustees, told the board the library operates frugally, relies on volunteers and partnerships, and had already pared programming and materials; she warned that reducing the career center from full-time to part-time would impede residents who use it for job-seeking and skill-building.

Library staff later described a zero-based budgeting review and said they had saved $56,000 in in-kind services and shifted to shared positions where possible. Staff answered line-item questions from selectmen about increased costs for an automatic sorter, copier leases, repairs to a book return, RFID tags and database subscriptions including Consumer Reports and Ancestry (the transcript cited a $27,500 database line). The library reported it is open 64 hours a week and that staffing is the majority of its budget.

First Selectman Wendy Mackstutis and other board members asked detailed questions about line-item increases and about the role of shared positions; Mr. Nelson and department leads explained some costs are one-time or due to contracted services. The board did not take a final vote on library appropriations at the workshop but asked staff for clarification on specific costs and impacts before the continuing budget meeting.