It doesn’t take much research to see commissioners made right choice
With their backs up against a wall — or a bookshelf in this case — county commissioners took proper action in restoring $6,000 to the Magness Library budget.
This was the right move and commissioners served the county well by making sure valuable library services weren’t ripped apart, and thousands of books weren’t hauled away.
The short-lived library controversy was the result of a misunderstanding more than anything else. It stemmed from the fact commissioners were determined to avoid a property tax increase, which meant cutting services was the primary option. The problem with that path, however, is the library budget can never be reduced due to a somewhat complicated Maintenance of Effort agreement most public libraries in Tennessee have with the state.
That Maintenance of Effort agreement says a library’s budget cannot be reduced. The level of funding must at least remain the same as the previous year.
If funding isn’t properly met, it breaches the agreement with the state. And if that agreement is broken, the state will then withdraw all the books and services it furnishes to that individual library. They are books and services far more valuable than the $6,000 commissioners had to dig up to keep library funding unchanged. Most conservative estimates have just the services valued around $100,000 annually.
Considering what was at stake, there’s no question commissioners made the right choice. Based on their actions, it could be said county commissioners used some book smarts in this instance.