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Residents restore library materials line to $87,000 after hour-long debate
Summary
After the finance committee proposed $63,000 for the library materials line, trustees said the cut would jeopardize state certification. Voters approved an amendment to raise the line to $87,000 by a counted vote of 114–48.
Fred Shannana, chair of the Library Board of Trustees, told town meeting that the library needs $87,000 for materials in FY2027; the finance committee had recommended $63,000. Shannana warned that the proposed cut would be the lowest materials appropriation in a decade, would substantially reduce purchases of books, audiobooks and databases, and could jeopardize state certification that enables interlibrary borrowing.
At the line-item budget debate, Shannana moved to increase the materials line to $77,800; that amendment passed. A subsequent motion by a resident (Janelle Woodfall) to set the materials line at $87,000 was seconded, debated and then counted: the tellers reported a vote of 114 in favor and 48 opposed, raising the amount to $87,000.
Library trustees and supporters emphasized the practical consequences: fewer new books and diminished access to databases and streaming services used by patrons and local schools. Supporters said that although the library has some state incentive-grant funds (the transcript reports a balance of about $94,000), those grants are variable and not a reliable substitute for operating-line funding. Opponents argued the town needed to preserve general-tax relief and had already made reductions across several departments; advocates countered that library services directly support children and school programming.
The omnibus motion to accept the FY2027 line-item budget as amended (including the restored library materials line) passed later in the meeting by raise-card vote.
