PEABODY — Concerned residents are urging the city to reconsider budget cuts to the Peabody Institute Library that they say will mean an unprecedented loss of accreditation and a drastic reduction in services.
Four residents submitted letters to the City Council for consideration at its most recent meeting. The letters were accepted, but not read into the record, according to City Councilor-at-Large Anne Manning Martin.
Martin said she hopes that “we, as a community can pull together resources to offset the shortage our library is facing that may lead to decertification by the state.”
“This budget cut can be nothing short of devastating … which will make it impossible for the library to meet the Municipal Appropriation Requirement (MAR) for state certification,” wrote Cynthia Dadd, a former librarian with more than 40 years of service. “NOBLE Network members and other cities/towns will most certainly cease to extend borrowing privileges to Peabody residents,” adding that it will likely take up to a year and a half to regain certification.
Former Library Director Martha Holden said that the library’s 17 percent cut is “disproportionate to that of the City’s overall (budget)” and that the cuts are “strikingly harmful to the public good and to the future of the City’s most iconic, effective and treasured institution.”
As library director, Holden was credited with managing a $10 million building and restoration project, leading a staff of 50, restoring the library’s art collection, and developing a network of partnerships with nonprofits to help deliver services such as a summer lunch program for needy kids.
Holden said the consequences of losing accreditation will be devastating. She said it will make the library ineligible for a $65,000 state aid award and other grants; result in a loss of the ability to borrow materials from other libraries, and “lack of credibility for grassroots fundraising efforts to support the library.”
Catherine Gravel said the library is more important to residents — more than ever before.
“Why during this time of crisis would we want to lose one more thing that helps us feel normal, provides us with resources, and helps us move forward and move on,” Gravel wrote. “There are a million reasons to keep our library certified and whole, yet only one reason to cut its funding – short-sightedness.
“I implore our elected officials to think beyond this small amount of budget to fund the library properly,” she said.
Donna Craven of the Peabody Education Foundation said she was very sad to hear this news, “especially during a difficult time when the support that the library can provide to children and families is most needed.”
Martin noted that earlier this year, the city transferred approximately $580,000 from various city departments to the School Department to cover expenses for additional staff hires.
“We more recently learned that their (the school) budget is $4 million in the black,” Martin said. “The School Department may be able to be creative and find the money to offset the need of an institution (the library) it works so closely with to provide the valuable lifeline to educational, recreational and social support to our most vulnerable. It may be unconventional but what about this year has been normal?”
Mayor Ted Bettencourt, who chairs the School Committee, said he would not ask that of the schools, insisting that “we have free cash in our reserve (city) account.
“We have never had a surplus in the schools, so that is not accurate information,” said Bettencourt. “There was some discussion last year about the concerns, but each department’s budget presents its own issues when it comes to problem areas. The last two years we have been looking to potentially cut some costs. This year, the issue is completely different as it’s totally COVID related.”
Bettencourt said every city department (except the schools) has been negatively affected by the pandemic and have suffered subsequent budget cuts as a result, admitting that the Council on Aging, Recreation, and library budgets were “affected a bit more.”
Dadd indicated her concerns about the likelihood that a waiver will be granted.
“The Board of Library Commissioners does not look favorably on petitioners that have made a cut to the library budget that is disproportionate to those of other city departments,” she said.
Bettencourt said the city has never sought a waiver until this year. If rejected, he said he will make a free-cash request to the council, adding that the shortfall is approximately $140,000.
“We intend to have the money secured should it be denied, but all of our departments need assistance, every department is struggling,” he said.
Bettencourt said he has received a number of letters, emails, and calls from residents.
“I have given my word to the Board of Library Trustees that this will not be an issue for us,” Bettencourt said. “I made it clear to the City Council that there is no way we will lose our certification.”
Anne Marie Tobin can be reached at [email protected].