Can anyone translate the comment at the end of the article by Marcia Griswold, regarding funding from the Friends running out? It may have been edited by the S-T.

But on its face, it begs the question: How does this comment fit with the fiscal year cycle (the fiscal year is July 1 to June 30 for cities & Towns)? She says she came on board in July, the first month of the fiscal year. Is there funding that doesn't fit in the fiscal year cycle?

This is not clear to me.
_______________________

TAKE BACK WAREHAM !
FOCUS !
April 6 , 2010 !

This is the bad news for the library I was talking about.  The Friends gave $20,000 LAST DECEMBER for last year's salaries to get the library up to 40 hours from the 25 that was instituted by Sanguinet.

We are now in a new fiscal year. The Friends purchased $45,000 of books for this certification year, so the library would meet that part of the requirement. I think the Friends did their fair share thanks to Dick Wheeler's paddlethon!

Three requirements for certification:

1. MAR or municipal appropriation requirement. The library can not be cut disproportionately to other town departments and must be funded at a certain level according to an MBLC formula.

2. The book and materials budget must, for a town our size, be 15% of the annual budget.

3. The library must be open a certain number of hours depending on town size etc.

Because Sanguinet, (who told the MBLC he was solely responsible for shutting the library to 25 hours), reduced the hours, we violated #3 for this year. In order to get a waiver, we needed to have the Pacheco legislation. The BoS and M. Griswold were reminded that the legislation needed to be passed and they were also reminded that certain paperwork for certification and state aid had to be filed.  In fact, they were offered help to get this done on more than one occasion.

We were told that the legislation is simple and that when the town of Randolf needed to do it, the legislation "sailed through." I guess it isn't as easy for Mr. Pacheco.

Decertification for the second time!!! Tell me again that the BoS and the Acting Director and the ITA care about this library!!

Last edited by Nora Bicki (2009-11-24 17:37:16)

I am sure evebyody knows that Mr. Moderator has been carrying Marc Pacheco's water for years now (along with Terese Murray and Barney Frank).  Anytime any one of them needed to paraded around the area Mr. Moderator would be driving them around like they were Miss Daisy!  He is an arrogant clown, but he also has been doing work for them for YEARS.  What a coincidence that something under the radar to the rest of the area (other than Wareham) gets pushed aside for such a lame excuse unless somebody needed a favor.  They will do anyting to save face and they are also pretty desperate.

I wouldnt count on Marc Pacheco doing a thing for this matter except pushing it further into the direction the others want.

I'm just wondering. The WFL needs a library director. Who would apply for a job at a library that had been decertified for the second year in a row??!!  And then told that you only had 2 full time and 4 part time staff members to cover all the hours open.

Did anyone hear who they put in as new Trustees? They certainly have their work cut out for them.

Part of their responsibility is understanding who the library patrons are. It is true that some people in town have their own computers and can afford to buy books from Borders, but many of our patrons cannot afford such luxuries. The number of people who need to use the computers and read the newspapers, take out books etc. is very high. We have 20,000+ residents and 13,380 library card holders. That is a very high ratio that is common in lower socio-economic towns (which can be gleaned from the census reports).  These trustees and the new director will have to work very hard to bring library services to the people of Wareham.

I'm sure the new trustees will look beyond the bickering and vendettas to focus on the needs of the citizens of Wareham. It is not a responsibility to be taken lightly.  At least they will be getting $50,000 soon so they can put that money to good use and begin to raise more. I wish them luck in these tough fiscal times.

If anyone has access to the names of the contributors to the campaigns of our esteemed elected BOS perhaps divulging them would show the rest of us exactly which contributors got appointed to town boards, committees and commissions and then we would know why?

Nora Bicki wrote:

Did anyone hear who they put in as new Trustees? They certainly have their work cut out for them.

Leie Carmody June, 2011
Johnna Fredrickson June, 2011
Kathleen R. Furler June, 2011
Dorothy Heath June, 2012
John F. Houton June, 2012
Elizabeth L. Pezzoli June, 2012
Martha Strachan June, 2010
Loey Vieira June, 2010
Thomas E. Wavro June, 2010

DID MARCIA GRISWALD GET THE LIBRARY CERTIFACTION PAPERS IN ON TIME?  MAYBE THE LIBRARY WOULD HAVE  BEEN CERTIFIED IF SHE WASNT SPENDING SO MUCH TIME RANSACKING THE LIBRARY WITH  BROCTON BRENDA LOOKING  FOR DIRT ON FORMER TRUSTEES AND THE FORMER LIBRIAAN HEADS, ALSO SINCE THE HEAD LIBRIANS OFFICE IS LOCKED AND ONLYMS GISWALD HAS THE KEY AND NO ONE ELSE DOES WHAT IF A FIRE STATS HERE AND NO ONE ELSE CAN GET IN AND THE LIBRARY BURNS DOWN ,WONT MS GRISWALD BE RESPOSIBLE.

Interesting that you mention fire and the library. My sources told me that at a recent art show opening held at the library and attended by some of the BoS and some of the newly named library trustees as well as other citizens, candles were burning on the refreshment table!!!

If this is true, and I didn't see it, mind you, that would be a clear violation of the fire code for public buildings!!!! I would expect elected officials, and people who had applied to become trustees of a public building/entity, would know that burning candles are never appropriate in a public building. But as I said, I didn't see it, so I'm just telling you what I "heard."  Surely my sources were mistaken!!!

In the past, the Friends were not even allowed to put up a live Christmas tree in the lobby of the library because that alone, no burning candles on it, would be a violation of the fire code for public buildings. 

I guess it is ok to break the law as long as you don't get caught!! Now where have I heard that before??!!

Steve Urbon wrote:

Decertification, Carty said, means that Wareham library patrons won't be guaranteed access to books in other towns' libraries through the popular SAILS network.

It also means that the town won't be receiving any state aid for its library this year, she said.

It is possible, even likely, that Wareham will make agreements with other towns to maintain book exchanges.

Carty said that those decisions are left up to local library boards to make.

The library's interim director, Marcia Griswold, said that she is recruiting volunteers and fully intends to keep the library open more than 40 hours a week to satisfy the state requirements.

"When I came on (in July), the money had run out from the Friends and I decided to maintain their hours without any help from the Friends," she said.

P-SPAN
TAKEBACKWAREHAM
April 6, 2010

I'd be curious to know who Steve U's source was for this information and how the article came into play when it did.

It would be good to know where the decertification misinformation originated and why. It might even shed a light on things that we may not be yet aware of. Was it a simple mistake or not?

yes, still certified; perhaps, someone could enlighten us both.

Decertification as of Jan 1, 2010 not determined; eligibility open until December 31st, 2009 so outcome can still be changed.

Sorry Bill, can't reveal my sources... you know what it's like. But here is my point - eligibility for the waiver is open until Dec 31st, we are not decertified. We have to redouble our efforts that Marcia Griswold perform the tasks that are required to bring us into compliance where we are not. That the newly appointed trustees as their first act take every necessary action to ensure that we obtain the waiver. that our efforts continue to insist that Sen Pacheco continue his lobbying efforts. Im not quite sure why the whole blackout occured last night. I probably shouldnt go down the road and suggest it had anything to do with keeping a veil over these new library appointees or perhaps bringing clarification to this matter should the issue have been brought up somehow then. All I know is that Marcia needs to accomplish stuff she hasnt done in order to get this waiver and this new library board of trustees needs to be held equally accountable to get this job done by December 31st. If we accept that the library is decertified then none of this is necessary in this timeframe. I believe our opportunities are still open and the information we have thus far received is erroneous.

The way I read it, the state board made a decision and it takes effect Jan. 1. They didn't give the town a list of particulars about how to reverse it. The decision was based on what the town did in fiscal 2009, which basically was cut the library hours below acceptable levels for week after week. The town can't un-ring that bell. What it can hope for is that the Legislature will pass and the governor will sign Sen. Marc Pacheco's legislation pleading with the library board for a waiver on the promise that Wareham will be good little boys and girls from now on. Of course it would have been better if the Legislature passed it before the board's decision, but it is what it is. And also of course, there is no guarantee that the Legislature will pass anything at all.

Nora Bicki wrote:

I'm just wondering. The WFL needs a library director. Who would apply for a job at a library that had been decertified for the second year in a row??!!  And then told that you only had 2 full time and 4 part time staff members to cover all the hours open.

Did anyone hear who they put in as new Trustees? They certainly have their work cut out for them.

Part of their responsibility is understanding who the library patrons are. It is true that some people in town have their own computers and can afford to buy books from Borders, but many of our patrons cannot afford such luxuries. The number of people who need to use the computers and read the newspapers, take out books etc. is very high. We have 20,000+ residents and 13,380 library card holders. That is a very high ratio that is common in lower socio-economic towns (which can be gleaned from the census reports).  These trustees and the new director will have to work very hard to bring library services to the people of Wareham.

I'm sure the new trustees will look beyond the bickering and vendettas to focus on the needs of the citizens of Wareham. It is not a responsibility to be taken lightly.  At least they will be getting $50,000 soon so they can put that money to good use and begin to raise more. I wish them luck in these tough fiscal times.

I know that Elizabeth Pezzoli has been appointed as a new trustee.  Another blogger and  myself have a serious problem with her.  After all she did to harm the wonderful librarian Mary Jane Pillsbury, Susan Pizzolato and the other fine trustees and workers by her vicious reporting in her newspaper; myself and another blogger find it unbelievable that she has torn apart our library and can walk into the library with her head held high and no guilt.  Amazing.