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Residents urge Mahoning County commissioners to probe Poland library, ask Ohio attorney general to review
Summary
Residents attending the July 16 meeting urged Mahoning County commissioners to intervene in the future of the Poland library, alleging poor maintenance and a lack of oversight by the library board and asking the county to involve the Ohio attorney general for a review; commissioners offered thanks and said they would consider next steps but took no formal action on the library.
Debbie Taylor, a Poland resident and member of a community group trying to save the Poland library, told the Mahoning County commissioners at their July 16 meeting that the building and its stewardship need immediate attention and possible review by the state attorney general. “We believe there's some nonfeasance or malfeasance,” Taylor said, urging commissioners to “leave no stone unturned.”
Taylor asked the board to consider revising the library's contract with the county and to request a study or audit from the Ohio attorney general, which she described as the “ultimate authority for the library.” Dave Smith, another member of the local Save Our Library effort, said a July 6 meeting brought together federal, state and local officials and trustees to explore ways to keep the library at its present location.
The meeting chair criticized how the library board operates, saying the board appears unaccountable to the public and county officials and that the county receives little transparency about operations or maintenance. The chair said the current funding mix (largely public dollars) makes the lack of oversight especially troubling and indicated the topic will be raised again by commissioners; no formal motion or vote to take legal action or direct staff to pursue an attorney-general review was made during the meeting.
John Yurian, a former library board member and member of the local library committee, thanked county staff for emergency response work following a recent tornado but did not propose specific board-level remedies. Commissioners thanked the public commenters for organizing and said they would continue discussing options and legislative remedies raised during the session.
The commissioners did not adopt any formal resolution or take a vote during the meeting related to the Poland library; commenters asked for contract revision and for the county to explore an Ohio attorney general review, and commissioners signaled they would consider the requests at a future time.
