Watertown residents and nonprofit leaders urge council not to tap library endowment amid 2026 budget talks

Public commenters and one alderman pressed the Watertown Common Council on Nov. 4 to avoid using library endowment funds and to preserve library staffing as the city reviews its 2026 budget.

David Hertel, a longtime library patron and former library board member, told the council he was "very disheartened" to read that council members "want to" use library endowment funds. He said those funds "were given and bequeathed to be held to generate interest and dividend income for the library" and urged the council to "keep your hands off that money." Hertel identified Aldermen Smith and Berg as associated with the proposal in published reporting.

Stephanie Curtis, executive director of Watertown Family Connections, described the library as "a living, breathing hub of dignity, learning, and community," and said that reductions in hours or staff would harm families, children who rely on Wi-Fi for homework, and community organizations that use library space. "It's not just a budget line. It's a life line," Curtis said, noting the library houses programs that reach seniors, teens and newcomers.

Alderman Lampe framed the issue in budget-history terms, reviewing the financing of the library expansion. Lampe said citizens approved a public funding cap by referendum and that the total project cost was about $10,000,000. He said the finance committee recommended a $40,000 cut to the library in the 2026 proposal and warned that cut "will be absorbed through the elimination of 2 people's jobs." Lampe also said the finance committee voted 3–1 to ask the library board to consider transferring certain donation proceeds to the city and cautioned that a separate $200,000 request, if pursued, could conflict with a prior city resolution (identified in the transcript as "resolution 86 35," dated 06/05/2018) and with state law on donated funds.

Council members asked staff and the library board to put related materials in the meeting packet and to have the library board "entertain the possibility" of discussing fund transfers at a future meeting; the mayor stated that the finance committee's action to date was a request for the library board to consider the option rather than a council directive to take funds. No formal transfer of library endowment funds or final council action to reallocate those funds was recorded at the Nov. 4 meeting.

The council continued the broader budget discussion after public comment; separate motions at the meeting addressed reallocations within capital accounts and other contract approvals.

Looking ahead, council members and staff signaled the library board would be asked to discuss any request about donated or endowed funds in a future meeting and the council's adopted 2026 budget (if finalized) would reflect the finance committee's recommendations and any subsequent council amendments.