Read more: Local, Lucas County Library Budget
Mary Chwialkowski has worked in Lucas County libraries for 24 years. She is the manager of the Toledo Heights branch. Since July, when rumors of cuts started circulating, her employees have been the kind of nervous that's all too common in this recession.
“Very sad time for the library. This has not happened for many, many years,” said Chwialkowski. Here is what the library board is faced with: The state has cut the library budget by 20%. After that, the library director says Governor Strickland proposed an additional 30% cut. That's when library goers stood up.
“People from all over Ohio, they've never seen such an over abundance of e-mails and contacts to the legislature. We shut down the system, I don't know how many times it collapsed,” said Clyde Scoles, Library Director.
The state was basically strong armed to change that 30% to 11%. Still, that cut sliced the budget by a total of 31% or $7.4 million dollars. To make up the loss, fines will be increased, and hours of operation will be reduced, but those things are not the main priority of the union.
“If we had not done anything we would have 14 individuals would be laid off,” said David Lutz, Co-president of the library's union, Aple.
Lutz sat down this week with the board of trustees to try to save some of those jobs. Union concessions include reducing wages, eliminating a cost of living increase, and raising the cost of benefits. Those compromises combined with the library's retirement incentive, good through November, took the originally proposed personnel cuts of over 30, down to just four and no lost union jobs.
“Very unique for a union organization and their management administration to agree on something that's going to be so beneficial,” said Lutz.
Chwialkowski says it seems to her that the Director, the Union, and everyone dropping the economic axe are very cautious about how hard they are swinging.
The new library hours are as follows:
Birmingham, Lagrange, Maumee, Mott, Reynolds Corner, South, Washington, Waterville, and West Toledo branches will be open Tuesday: Noon-8:30p.m. and Wednesday-Saturday: 9a.m.-5:30p.m. The Kent, Locke, Point Place, and Toledo Heights branches will run Monday and Tuesday: Noon-8:30p.m., Wednesday-Saturday: 9a.m.-5:30pm. The only branch that will keep Sunday hours will be the Sanger Branch. Those hours will be Sunday: 1p.m.-5:30p.m. Fines have also increased. For a price listing you can visit toledolibrary.org.
