Baton Rouge libraries meet Mayor Sid Edwards’ budget plan: “We were blinded” – advocate

East Baton Rouge’s parish library staff say they have not been included in discussions on the proposal of President Mayor Sid Edwards to dedication to library funds to raise police and other initiatives.

In a statement published on Saturday, the Library Council said the mayor’s proposal would prevent the system’s ability to buy new books and host community programs.

“We were blinded by this proposal,” said President of the Library Candace Temple. “This would mainly change all operations in the East Baton Rouge parish library system.”

In addition to restricting books and e -books, the proposal would reduce early literacy programming, summer reading, small business services, bookmaker service and career center, Library officials say.

The newspaper also criticizes Edwards’ initial announcement of the proposal, which the library council says that the wrong library funds saved for Capitol projects as a surplus in the system budget.

In his own statement on Saturday afternoon, Edwards said that more than $ 90 million kept in the balance of the library fund really were an excess.

“The average taxpayer in Eastern Baton Rouge contributes over 200% more than the country’s average to finance the library,” he said. “With Baton Rouge, facing an increasing crisis of homelessness and the percentage of crime, approaching record maximums, the money that is currently sitting in the library’s surplus can be better used in dealing with these urgent needs of the Community.”