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Wants vs needs
Guest
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 Posted: Sun, Dec 5 2010, 11:11 am EST Post subject: Cranbury wants to move township library out of local school |
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CRANBURY — Since 1924, township residents have borrowed books from a public library housed inside their K-8 school’s library — a unique set-up of only a few libraries in New Jersey.
But Cranbury Public Library now wants to move out of the K-8 school and has begun a $3 million capital campaign to build its own library on township-donated land across the street--to the dismay of some patrons like Dominique Jones.
http://www.nj.com/news/local/index.ssf/2010/12/cranbury_wants_to_move_townshi.html |
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Guest
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| Posted: Sun, Dec 5 2010, 11:46 am EST Post subject: Re: Cranbury wants to move township library out of local school |
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Not again.  |
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guest 2
Guest
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| Posted: Sun, Dec 5 2010, 3:00 pm EST Post subject: Re: Cranbury wants to move township library out of local school |
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| Quote: | The township and school have outgrown the current arrangement, according to Cranbury Public Library Director Marilynn Mullen.
“Now there’s more students coming in for classes,” said Mullen. |
In fact the school is getting SMALLER -- this year there are only two K and two 1st grade classes. All other grade levels have three or four sections.
Frankly, I do not see the need for a separate library and never have. Plainsboro's library is great and we have equal access to it and it is as far away as any library in a normal sized town.
I would definitely view it as a luxury in a time when luxuries are bad form.
I don't think they'll have much luck with the fundraising. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Sun, Dec 5 2010, 3:30 pm EST Post subject: Re: Cranbury wants to move township library out of local school |
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| Why, Why, Why ??? |
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Guest
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| Posted: Sun, Dec 5 2010, 5:23 pm EST Post subject: Re: Cranbury wants to move township library out of local school |
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The want versus need argument doesn't work. Needs are: food, clothing, shelter. The wants that we spend money on are
school - beyond just good, one of the top schools, preserved farmland, renovated barns, many parks throughout the town, a huge town hall for our size town...I am not saying that these are bad things, but the want versus need argument does not apply.
We have a lot of wants or "luxury" items as it is. We just decide that these are important to us.
If the public library can raise funds to build the facility, more power to them. Our public library is very important to our town. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Sun, Dec 5 2010, 5:37 pm EST Post subject: Re: Cranbury wants to move township library out of local school |
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| Guest wrote: | | Our public library is very important to our town. |
Why?
We have less than 4,000 people. Why is a stand alone public library important in such a small town?
Even if they manage to completely privately fund the creation of the stand alone library, which is far from certain, it would cost more to operate than the current library, would obligate us to certain state mandated funding requirements and would mean there is no rent going to the school which would translate to more revenue needed in the school budget which would mean more taxes.
We have a great library already, appropriately sized for our tiny Township. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Sun, Dec 5 2010, 5:57 pm EST Post subject: Re: Cranbury wants to move township library out of local school |
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| Guest wrote: | | Guest wrote: | | Our public library is very important to our town. |
Why?
We have less than 4,000 people. Why is a stand alone public library important in such a small town?
Even if they manage to completely privately fund the creation of the stand alone library, which is far from certain, it would cost more to operate than the current library, would obligate us to certain state mandated funding requirements and would mean there is no rent going to the school which would translate to more revenue needed in the school budget which would mean more taxes.
We have a great library already, appropriately sized for our tiny Township. |
I am opposed to the town using public funds to build a library, but I am not opposed to private funds. The school was not getting rent until a year ago so I am not concerned about that loss of revenue and the state library funding formula is fixed so I am not worried about new mandates.
I am not sure about the operating costs since the rent would be applied to operating and they pay electric, etc.. today.
So if they can fund the creation themselves I would be fine. |
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guests
Guest
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| Posted: Sun, Dec 5 2010, 8:37 pm EST Post subject: Re: Cranbury wants to move township library out of local school |
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| There is no need for a free standing library, that would be a LUXURY that would not be in the best interest of the majority of taxpayers. The continuing maintenance and personel costs would be one more tax drain . We now have too many other drains on our funds. If one looks at all the maintence costs for SPORTS and the new irrigation well for the fields and the bottomless baseball field expenses we are digging another pit for our tax dollars. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Sun, Dec 5 2010, 8:49 pm EST Post subject: Re: Cranbury wants to move township library out of local school |
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| guests wrote: | | There is no need for a free standing library, that would be a LUXURY that would not be in the best interest of the majority of taxpayers. The continuing maintenance and personel costs would be one more tax drain . We now have too many other drains on our funds. If one looks at all the maintence costs for SPORTS and the new irrigation well for the fields and the bottomless baseball field expenses we are digging another pit for our tax dollars. |
If the library can build it without tax payer dollars then I have no issue. There is no need for increased staff and the township can refuse to give them money beyond what is legally required. Since they would not give them money to build I don't see them giving additional money for other costs. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Mon, Dec 6 2010, 8:55 am EST Post subject: Re: Cranbury wants to move township library out of local school |
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| Quote: | | There is no need for a free standing library, that would be a LUXURY that would not be in the best interest of the majority of taxpayers. The continuing maintenance and personel costs would be one more tax drain . We now have too many other drains on our funds. If one looks at all the maintence costs for SPORTS and the new irrigation well for the fields and the bottomless baseball field expenses we are digging another pit for our tax dollars. |
We pick our "luxuries". Our extremely well funded school is a luxury for an example. A public library in our down town area is important to us...to continue to keep Cranbury being Cranbury. Anyone who wants a real public library seems to go to Plainsboro or Monroe. We are in danger of losing our library...getting swallowed up in the megastructure of the school.
If the public library can do this on the 1% of our taxes, plus fund raising, great. Actually, I wouldn't even mind 2% of my taxes because the library is so important to our community, and will finally be for the whole community. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Mon, Dec 6 2010, 8:59 am EST Post subject: Re: Cranbury wants to move township library out of local school |
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| Compare percentage of taxes - at least 55% for shool. Township is about 24%, about County 20%. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Mon, Dec 6 2010, 9:32 am EST Post subject: Re: Cranbury wants to move township library out of local school |
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| Guest wrote: | | Quote: | | There is no need for a free standing library, that would be a LUXURY that would not be in the best interest of the majority of taxpayers. The continuing maintenance and personel costs would be one more tax drain . We now have too many other drains on our funds. If one looks at all the maintence costs for SPORTS and the new irrigation well for the fields and the bottomless baseball field expenses we are digging another pit for our tax dollars. |
We pick our "luxuries". Our extremely well funded school is a luxury for an example. A public library in our down town area is important to us...to continue to keep Cranbury being Cranbury. Anyone who wants a real public library seems to go to Plainsboro or Monroe. We are in danger of losing our library...getting swallowed up in the megastructure of the school.
If the public library can do this on the 1% of our taxes, plus fund raising, great. Actually, I wouldn't even mind 2% of my taxes because the library is so important to our community, and will finally be for the whole community. |
This is where I disagree. I fully support them raising the funds and building a library through their own cash and then funding the operation through the existing rate even if the town is legally allowed to decrease it in the future. However, increasing their funding by 1% is to me not a point of discussion and I have yet to hear a library member ask for it either which is good. That would mean close to or over a million dollars (depending on the level of property value in the town) going to the library each year. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Mon, Dec 6 2010, 11:05 am EST Post subject: Re: Cranbury wants to move township library out of local school |
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How will they raise 3 million bucks?
Will they build the new library on the baseball field to nowhere? |
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Guest
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| Posted: Mon, Dec 6 2010, 11:18 am EST Post subject: Re: Cranbury wants to move township library out of local school |
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| The master plan has the future library across the parking lot from its current location and, yes, next to the ballfield. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Mon, Dec 6 2010, 11:20 am EST Post subject: Re: Cranbury wants to move township library out of local school |
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| The Cranbury Public Library Foundation is starting a capital campaign to raise the money. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Mon, Dec 6 2010, 12:09 pm EST Post subject: Re: Cranbury wants to move township library out of local school |
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| Quote: | | A public library in our down town area is important to us...to continue to keep Cranbury being Cranbury. |
I don't understand this logic. If we have not had a separate stand-alone downtown library so far, why is creating one "important" to "keep" Cranbury being Cranbury"? If you want to argue it would be a nice or useful thing, that's certainly a valid opinion. But how do you argue that changing something from the way it has been is important to maintain the character of the town as it has been? |
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