Resident says ‘hold the applause’

Sep 21, 2011 1 min read

To the editor:

Here’s a Sept. 14 Fort Myers Beach Observer front page headline: “Library board shrinks budget by 20 percent.”

On first blush this sounds laudatory. And, at the Sept.6 Library Board meeting at which the FY 2011/12 0.4999 mill rate and budget were adopted, the Library Director and Board President did compliment themselves for reducing the mill rate from the 0.5989 of the past two years.

However here are two fact that were conveniently not surfaced:

1. The mill rate for FY 2006/7 through 2010/11 averaged 0.5323. Excluding the funds raised for the expansion, without taking the proposal for the more than $8,000,000 needed for the more than doubling the size of the library to the voters by referendum, the mill rate these 5 years for library operations could have been 0.1758. This cost an owner here with a $300,000 assessed home over $500 more these 5 years.

2. Excluding expansion related expenses, costs in the upcoming fiscal year are budgeted up more than 50 percent over just two years ago. If the Library Board was prudently keeping costs down while taxing us heavily for the expansion, why shouldn’t we expect the same next year? So in my opinion, the irresponsibility continues.

So, are congratulations really in order? I think not!

Paul Martin

Fort Myers Beach