ROCKLAND, Maine — Supporters of the Rockland Public Library turned out Wednesday night to save a position proposed for elimination. And by late in the evening, councilors agreed to keep it.
Sixty residents filled the City Council chamber to urge councilors to fill a vacant position and not cut the post as was recommended by interim City Manager Tom Luttrell in his proposed 2014-2015 municipal budget.
A final vote on the budget will be June 30.
“The library is not just the brains of the community, it’s also the heart of the community,” resident Eleanor Richardson said.
The turnout was the largest for a Rockland budget meeting in more than than 30 years. Speakers made their pleas for nearly 90 minutes.
Barbara Bibro-Schureman, who is a part-time staff member at the library, pointed out that the library had six employees before its expansion and modernization 13 years ago. She said if the council fails to fill the reference librarian post that is on the cutting block, the number will be back to six.
“I feel like I’m in an Agatha Christie novel, ‘And Then There Were None,’” Bibro-Schureman said.
Edward Miller said Rockland has two jewels — the Farnsworth Art Museum and its public library. He pointed out that the Rockland library has a phenomenal number of people come through the doors, 155,000 in the past year; number of programs, 940; and number of people who attend programs, 12,000.
Nikki Maounis, director of the Camden Public Library and former director of the Rockland library, said that the projected $12 a year per household it will cost to keep the position is a small price to pay for what the library offers.
“Deep cuts two years in a row will be catastrophic,” Maounis said.
She then pulled out $12 and walked up to the front of the room and gave it to Luttrell, prompting a round of applause.
Councilor Frank Isganitis said it was easy to make the feel-good comments but that people have been silent on how the city would pay for the position. He also said Maounis’ “grand gesture” doesn’t accept the reality that $12 is a lot of money for many people in Rockland.
He said Rockland is near the top in terms of spending for libraries for communities with a similar population. The proposed budget for 2014-2015 is $523,996, a decline of 6 percent.
Mayor Larry Pritchett said the city has strongly supported the library, pointing out that its budget is nearly three times what it was when the library expanded.
The manager’s budget, unveiled April 23, called for not filling the reference librarian post, not filling a vacant half-time assistant to the city manager postion, and elimination of the fire chief post. The fire chief post is being filled on an interim basis by Adam Miceli, who had been assistant chief. Over the next several months, Luttrell is asking the council to allow him to study the creation of a public safety director who would oversee both the police and fire departments.
Also at the Wednesday night meeting, councilors took a preliminary vote to add $10,500 to the budget to contribute to four outside social service agencies. The organizations to be served would be Area Interfaith Outreach, $2,500; Coastal Trans, $2,500; St. Bernard’s soup kitchen, $5,000; and Coastal Opportunities, $500. The vote was 3-2.
Isganitis opposed the proposal, saying municipalities should not be making donations.
The $10.8 million budget for 2014-2015 is down about $63,000 from the 2013-2014 budget.
The preliminary municipal budget and the tentative Regional School Unit 13 budget will increase the city’s tax rate 51 cents from $19.52 to $20.03. A person with a home assessed at $150,000 will pay an additional $76.
Last year, after state revenue sharing was cut, the council eliminated an emergency medical technician position, a library technician, a Public Works Department secretary, and a vacant Police Department patrol officer position. Two full-time positions — assistant to the city manager and general assistance administrator — were reduced to part-time.
The proposed 2014-2015 budget includes 3 percent raises for employees, a 20 percent increase in retirement contributions, and a 10 percent increase in health insurance costs.
The largest account in the municipal budget is the Police Department, proposed at nearly $2 million, a 3 percent increase. The Fire Department is proposed at slightly more than $1.5 million, a 2 percent decrease. The public works budget is proposed at nearly $1.6 million, up 2 percent. Debt repayment is budgeted at nearly $1.2 million, unchanged from 2013-2014.