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Braswell Library director urges council not to deepen cuts as budget debate continues
Summary
During the Rocky Mount budget work session, Braswell Library director Miss Corso told councilors cuts would force furloughs and reduce essential free services, asking them to preserve library funding while council considers a grant‑writer to recapture outside funding.
Braswell Library director Miss Corso spoke during Thursday’s budget work session to plead for the library’s funding after councilors discussed reductions to outside agencies.
"The library is a core service of this community," Miss Corso said, describing free programs, Wi‑Fi access, job fairs that drew more than 500 attendees and the staff who run those services. She warned that additional reductions could require furloughs and said the Friends of the Library and other community supporters help raise money but that cuts risked closure or reduced hours.
Councilman Robertson said he was not proposing to cut the library but instead to fund a grant writer who could restore external funding streams; Robertson noted a previous short‑term grant writer had located about $875,000 for the city within three months. Several council members urged caution about hiring given recent FTE reductions in staff and the fact many grants require local matches.
Staff reminded council that the budget as proposed currently includes $500,000 for Braswell Library — a reduction from previous allocations — and that Nash and Edgecombe counties have covered some differences in the past. Council discussion then continued to broader priorities and contingency options.
Miss Corso’s statements underscored the library’s role in workforce and literacy services and helped frame the council’s subsequent debate about whether to add a grant‑writer position or find alternative offsets.
