FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2003
CONTACT:
Monica Lofton, 202/727-1186
COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MARK-UP RETURNS $1 MILLION TO D.C. PUBLIC LIBRARY BUDGET
Vote For Budget Restoration Keeps Two Branches From Closing
(Washington, DC) At a mark-up yesterday afternoon of the fiscal year 2004 budget submitted by Mayor Williams for the District of Columbia Public Library, the Committee on Education, Libraries and Recreation of the Council of the District of Columbia voted to restore $1 million to the budget, saving two branch libraries from closing.
In his remarks to fellow Councilmembers, Chair Kevin Chavous said the committee would not follow the Mayor’s mark. In outlining recommendations for how to restore the money, he thanked Councilmembers Kathy Patterson and Vincent Orange for redirecting funds from their committees to make up for the short fall. They are chairs of the Committee of the Judiciary and Committee on Government Operations, respectively. Both committees agreed to transfer $500,000 each to the Library’s budget.
Of the restoration, Chair Chavous said “[This] obviates the need for closing libraries.”
Under the Mayor’s proposed budget the D.C. Public Library would have been cut by nearly $1 million, which forced the Board of Library Trustees to vote on March 19 to shut down two branch libraries in the event the budget passed through Council unchanged. The following day at a committee hearing citizen advocates, the president of the Board of Trustees, the director of the library, and Ralph Nader, a nationally known consumer advocate and founder of the D.C. Library Renaissance Project, urged the Committee on Education, Libraries and Recreation not to cut the budget.
“I thank Chair Kevin Chavous for his leadership and the diligence with which he supports the public libraries of the District of Columbia,” said Marie Harris Aldridge, president of the Board of Library Trustees. “Our libraries are critically important to the education of our children and the lifelong learning of all residents.”
“Chairman Chavous and the Committee have shown once again their commitment to not only education but also the quality of life in our neighborhoods,” commented Library Director Molly Raphael. “We know that it wasn’t easy to find the additional funds and are grateful that the contribution of public libraries is valued in such a tangible way.”
With the money restored, the Library will not close any branches except for pre-scheduled maintenance or renovation.
The full Council is expected to vote on the District budget, including this recommendation, on April 29, 2003.
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