Residents urge Allegany County commissioners to preserve libraries as system faces shortfall

Speakers at an Allegany County Board of Commissioners meeting urged elected officials to prevent the closure of two to three county libraries and pressed county leaders to identify funding alternatives as the Allegany County Library System faces a budget shortfall.

The appeals came during public comment from Trish Morgan, president of Save the Western Port Library, and the Rev. Justin Searls of Keiser, West Virginia, among others. "We're counting on those seven trustees to make the right decision and keep all of the libraries open," Morgan said, identifying the local group that formed to support the Western Port Library and saying her organization expects to raise $30,000 by April. The trustees she referenced are the seven members of the county library board whose appointments the commissioners make.

Morgan told the commissioners the library system's executive director, whom she identified as "Mr. Tobe," has a $125,000 salary and that the system has not been doing grant writing or fundraising to address the shortfall. She said trustees have said they could still vote to close Western Port Library even if community fundraising were successful. "They could still vote, 'Let's close Western Port Library,'" Morgan said.

Why it matters: Several speakers described libraries as critical community resources for children, job-seekers and low-income residents. The Save the Western Port Library group urged the county to consider a small annual levy — about $2.68 per taxpayer, as Morgan described it — to fund libraries and keep branches open. Morgan said Western Port is a town of about 2,500 people and that roughly 40% of residents live in poverty.

The public commenters named several branches they said are at risk or serve vulnerable residents, including Western Port Library, LaVale Library, South Cumberland Library, George's Creek Library and the Washington Street Library. Morgan said trustees are drafting alternate budgets for review at a trustee meeting on April 4 at the South Cumberland Library on Seymour Street.

The Rev. Justin Searls framed his remarks in religious terms and urged commissioners to protect library services. "Libraries have been a cornerstone in our society... I must advocate in the strongest possible manner against any discussion of libraries being closed due to a lack of funding," Searls said.

A separate member of the public who did not give a name cited the state's Open Meetings Act and the Public Records Act and urged greater transparency. That speaker encouraged the commissioners to ensure closed sessions comply with the law and asked whether any commissioner had completed required training. County officials responded that one member, Ms. Loscollet, had filed an open meetings complaint and that the point was not the forum for litigating that complaint; the county attorney indicated the board would respond. Attorney Lee Beaman later read a compliance statement describing a March 6 closed session and the process the board followed.

No formal action to change library funding was taken by the commissioners at the meeting. Morgan and other speakers asked the commissioners to press the library trustees and the library executive director to find alternatives to branch closures, to consider a small levy to support libraries, and to appoint trustees carefully when vacancies arise. Morgan identified that Trustee Sue Rudd's term ends June 30 and encouraged commissioners to fill that upcoming vacancy deliberately.

Tighter timeline and next steps include trustee review of alternate budgets at the April 4 trustee meeting; the county's next public commission meeting was announced as Thursday, April 3 at 5 p.m. Several commenters said they plan to continue fundraising and volunteer support for local branches.

Ending: Speakers closed by asking commissioners and the public to visit and support local libraries and by urging transparency and adherence to open-meetings rules.