Warren Plans to Close all of our neighborhood Libraries.

We need your help to save them.

Vote for the Library millage Aug 3

See the Save Our Libraries site

Otherwise only the Civic Center Showpiece is to remain open.

This is robbing our neighborhood children. The problem is that they are only giving Busch and Burnette 5% each of the library staffing budget while wasting over two million dollars on overpaid excessive staff at Civic Center and Miller. There is no need to close our neighborhood libraries. Help us concerned citizens stop these closings. Contact us at wecare@macombhistory.us

We sent the Library Commission the following letter on April 20, 2010

Plan To Keep All Branches Open

To Warren Library Commission:

Do you have the courage to do what is right for our children? The South Warren neighborhood Association strongly requests that you keep the Busch and Burnette Branches open.  These are needed by our citizens.  We have examined the 2010 budget and find it is possible to keep them open. There is no need to close them.

1 Put a temporary halt to purchases of videos and everything not absolutely necessary.

2 Busch and Burnette only require two persons to run them plus one part time. Run these without a supervisor. Reduce hours if necessary.

Consider that In South Warren (Following from SEMCG) 19% of the residents are Age 60 up, 24% of our population are children, 15-22.7% of the population is now below the poverty level, The Unemployment rate 20% (city-data.com) 10% are disabled.

Consider over 300 homes have been foreclosed in S Warren and that the under 50% left the median wage and salary income was $31,400 and falling. So it is very fair to ask that higher paid folks give a little. Since union contracts expire June 30, 2010. Insist on temporary concessions from all supervisors and higher paid staff. (Granted you are not the ones to do this but the city bargainer can.)

There are five people who cost the library about $100,000 per person. That is excessive during this depression. Ask for temporary concessions from all supervisory staff and the library director. If they do not concede do not rehire them. Ask for concessions from higher paid staff if necessary. (Better to have a job than no job.) Note the benefits packages the supervisors and director get put them about $100,000 per year. If you don't believe this look at the budget. (see page 2 exactly from City 2010 budget)

Taxpayers are not going to vote for a millage to line pockets of overpaid directors and supervisors. But if we can show that cuts have been made there is hope for a millage.

Don't buy this nonsense that we have to have high priced masters degree librarians and x number of supervisors and a library director just because the State of Michigan would like that. These are tough times and they are not going to close our libraries down if we don't meet their high demands until this economic crisis is over. Don't cave in to this dictatorial government nonsense. These neighborhood libraries don't need this. What our children and citizens need in the south side is to keep those little neighborhood libraries open. The state funds are going to be cut anyway.

Cut back on staffing and hours is necessary at all libraries. Cut children's librarian if necessary. It is better to have libraries without a dedicated children's librarian than to not have libraries.

Cut down on all unnecessary spending.

If you look at the budget you will see that it is possible to keep all branches open and most staff jobs with consessions.

Remember serving the citizens by having libraries open is our real mission not lining the pockets of a few supervisors and having a single showcase library which in effect really cheats our children and citizens in the South Side out of library services.

You don't want to be forever known as the Library Commission who destroyed our libraries and robbed our children.

Sincerely, South Warren Neighborhood Association

Here is the Library Budget Adopted By Council for 2010 exactly as it is on page 182 of the City Budget.

Library Director 1 $ 92,175 plus benefits (over$100,000)

Branch Library Supervisor 4 73,483 plus benefits (over$100,000)

Branch Librarian 3 $59,421

Senior Library Assistant - Special Services 1 27.45/hr.

Library Technician 6 $50,802

Senior Clerk 1 $53,689

Permanent Part-time Employees:

Library Pages $200,000

Assistant Librarians (Substitutes) $90,000

Overtime $8,000

Total Personnel 16

(a) Wage rates are based on Local 1250, Local 412 Unit 35 and Local 1917 contracts that expire 6/30/09.

SPECIAL REVENUE FUND REQUESTED AND APPROVED page 183

LIBRARY FY 2010 SPECIAL REVENUE FUND Adopted EXPENDITURES: By Council

Personnel Services:

Appointed Official $ 92,551

Permanent Employees 891,403

Permanent Part-time Employees - Pages 290,000

Overtime 8,000

Shift Premium 8,000

Employee Benefits:

Education Allowance 12,000

Social Security 104,059

Employee Insurance 218,174

Retiree Health Insurance 352,638

Longevity 37,251

Retirement Fund 416,729

Cost of Living 3,454

Uniforms 190

Auto Allowance 3,600 - -

Legal Services 2,480

Total Employee Benefits 1,160,575 If you divide that by 16 you get average per employee of $72,535.94

This is excessive

Office Supplies 30,000

Other Services and Charges:

Copy Machine Expense 12,000

Contractual Services 8,500

Cooperative Services 150,000

Library Cooperative-Indirect Aid 45,000

Postage 3,750

Video Cassettes and Tapes 14,000

Library Circulating Materials 21,000

Periodicals 17,000

Telephone 13,000

Mileage 1,500

Auto Expense 2,000

Training & Workshops 500

Book Binding 200

Public Utilities 242,000

Repairs & Maintenance 18,000

If you analize the above budget you will see that they can easily staff Busch and Burnette with two full time staff and one part time staff. They need to cut out the unnecessary spending (see above). They could temporarily stop buying entertainment videos and some unneeded books. If the high paid staff were to take 15% concessions that would save around $60,000. Together with cutting down on unnecessary spending and possible cutback on library hours at all branches would be enough to keep all branches open.

Concerned Citizens need your help to fight for you. Contact us at - - - - wecare@macombhistory.us

or voice your opinion on Facebook Warrenites

America and Warren are losing the important education battle.

Our young people are way behind young people in other countries

China is graduating hundreds of engineers to each one of ours.

Their kids are doing calculus in the 6th grade ours can't even make change for a $20 bill after they graduate.

China is surpassing us in technology because of Education.

They will soon pass us in war technology.

This has serious implications to the very survival of our country.

Its having serious consequences now in Warren. There is more and more loss of jobs to educated people in other countries. Is there anything made in America anymore?

Neighborhood libraries are important to America's survival.

Neighborhood libraries are important to our children's education.

Our Warren children need our neighborhood libraries to be near where they live. Parents often don't have the means or time to drive them miles away. Parents feel it is unsafe to have children cross many busy streets and to walk miles to get to a library.

Veteran comment: Thousands of veterans suffered and died so that their children could have a better life. Many of us veterans saw our brothers die and many of us were seriously injured, some of us lost arms and legs. We fought so you could have freedom. And now it comes out that you are going to close our neighborhood libraries. Some of the vets can't get to a bus because there is no bus route near us. One of the things we fought for was our way of life and our culture which included neighborhood libraries for us and our children. We voted a millage for our neighborhood libraries and now you want to close them to support high class entertainment rental centers and to line pockets of administrators. This sounds like KMart where the big shots milked the company dry. I didn't vote for a millage to support entertainment centers or to support high priced administrators. My local library has just two people most of the time that is not too much to ask. Now our country is competing with China and Japan for world markets which mean jobs for my children. Those countries make education of their children a priority. And you want to rob my tax money and take education away from my children to line you pockets. I want my local library to be about education, not entertainment. But most of all we need our neighborhood library in our neighborhood where my children and I can get to it.

There is absolutely no need to close our neighborhood libraries.

The original millage was to establish neighborhood libraries so that children and citizens could have a source of knowledge in their neighborhood does need to be upped a little.

Thousands of dollars are being wasted on expensive entertainment videos.

Thousands of dollars are wasted on morally decadent, educationally lacking, intellectually lacking videos, often with excessive violence 10 times more common than real life, such as Death Race.

During these money pressed times the library should put emphasis on its original purpose which is education, not competing with Blockbuster.

Thousands are wasted on unneeded high priced administrators.

Civic Center and Miller staff get over $2 Million dollars in the 2010 budget (see below) while Bush and Burnette get only about 5% of the budget for staff. This administration is milking the budget dry to support unneeded and excessively paid staff.

The library operates only with the one-half mill that was written into the city charter in 1957 and is not funded by the City's general budget. But this is enough to provide basic neighborhood libraries open.

Hundreds of children in the South end cannot get to Civic Center or Miller. They need the educational edge that our neighborhood library provides. And Busch and Burnette only need 3 staff most of the time. And these do not need to be highly paid supervisors.

We are not going to vote for a millage so that we can pay people $100,000 thousand a year when many of us are at the point of deciding do we pay bills or buy food and don't have enough funds for both. Make needed cuts now.

Both Burnette and Bush have run for years on a staff of three people. Lets pay them decently to keep good dedicated staff but not excessively. Let's cut down on the number of these excessive unnecessary administrative positions such as an $100,000 per year director who appears to be set on killing neighborhood library services to our children.]

In future years we can boost our fine main library but it is morally wrong to deprive our children of the needed education provided by neighborhood libraries staffed by 3 people.

South Warren citizens, their children, local schools and businesses want and need the Busch and Burnette Libraries. Many homeowners bought property here because there was a local library nearby. They are part of our culture. They are much used by many children and citizens. We support keeping Miller open.

People in the South End of Warren are to a large extent economically disadvantaged. Many do not even have the means or time to travel to Civic Center. It does not make sense to have their children wait almost a long time for a bus unescorted or walk across busy streets 4-7 ½ miles. Warren residents in some cases would have to walk over a mile to then have to wait a long time to catch a bus because there is no bus service on some mile roads. And the Van Dyke bus is rather infrequent.

People in the south end pay their taxes in spite of the fact that many have lower incomes. In fact many of them pay disproportionately more than folks further north. Many are seniors or have been laid off and need the library to fill out job applications on line as required by many employers and to do online paperwork often required for the unemployment office.

The Children in the South end need Busch and Burnette to a greater extent because often their family can no longer afford Internet service and also don't have the means or time to go the Civic Center Library.
This is not Birmingham here. This is struggling lower working class families and poor children who need Busch and Burnette libraries. This is demonstrated by heavy usage of these libraries. And these families need this resource for their children's education.

Both Burnette and Busch are well built solid brick buildings which would be less costly to update than to replace and neither need a roof at the resent time, which may be possibly paid for by federal grant money when needed.

2010 Library budget which you can see online at

http://www.cityofwarren.org/index.php/budgets

Compare what each branch is using. Note that Civic Center and Miller are also inside other facilities so why is their utilities so out of line. Even with lack of inexpensive storm windows Burnette and Bush use relatively smaller proportions of the total.

Note actual staff costs estimated by us for Burnette and Busch each is only around 134,000 counting all benefits.

Actual staff for Civic Center and Miller is $2,236,272 according to 2010 budget $1,344,584 +$1,159,688 -268,000

So why is it that Burnette and Busch are only given about 5% of the employee budget?

Budget details

Appointed director 92,551

her auto allowance 3,600

permanent employees 891,403

Part time Employees 290,000

Overtime 8,000

Sift premium 8,000

Education allowance 12,000

social Security 104,059

Employee insurance 218,174

Retiree Health Ins 352,638

Longevity 37,251

Retirement fund 416,729

Cost of Living 3,454

Uniforms 190 Do we need uniforms

Legal services 2,480 Why is the library paying money to lawyers? Is this being used to reclaim stolen books? We object to padding some attorneys pockets.

Office supplies 30,000 Seems a bit high especially if copy machine paper is in item below?

Copy machine expenses 12,000

Contractual services 8,500 am guessing this is for cleaning

Cooperative services 150,000 what in heck is this?

Libr-Cooperative indirect aid 45,000

Postage 3,750

Video Cassettes and tapes 14,000 How many of these are educational? What are you doing even buying movies like Death Race and others with excessive violence. Is this part of our children's education? Even with rental fees we are still losing money on these. It appears we lost $7,000 last year.

Library Circulating materials 21,000

Periodicals 17,000

Telephone 13,000

Mileage 1,500

Auto expense 2,000 is this for the director?

Training & workshops 500

book Binding 200

Public Utilities 242,000 This could have been less if the director had relatively inexpensive storm windows installed.

Repairs and Maintenance 18,000

Totals expenditures grouped

Personal Services 1,344,584

Employees benefits 1,159,688

Total Employee expense $2,504,272

Supplies 32,750

Other services and charges 677,050

Capital outlay 161,500

Grand total of expenditures $3,375,572

Total revenues from all sources $3,174,808

shortfall $200,764

We think Both Burnette and Busch should be kept open and can be run by 3 staff members each.

Let these high priced administrators chip in and support a bookmobile to serve the children they have robbed of library services by the closing of Guest and Whitman libraries. Or open small neighborhood libraries in cooperation with local schools or in a vacant storefront.

There is absolutely no need to close our neighborhood libraries.

Ideas on how to save our libraries:

Recruit others to get involved and help us. Encourage folks to visit our local libraries. Check out books many visit and use the libraries but don't check out items and therefore are not counted.

Call the Mayor at (586) 574-4520 and City Council (586) 258-2060 and let them know we need and want and demand Busch, Burnette and Miller be kept open as our children and citizens need them.

Help us work on passing a small millage dedicated to the preservation of our neighborhood libraries serving children where they are most needed.

Additional things we can do to save our libraries:

Encourage the City of Warren to redistribute some of our taxpayer paid funds to help our libraries at least to make it until the millage funds come in.

Encourage early retirement of high paid old timers and replace with lower paid part time if necessary.

Eliminate absurd excessive salaried positions in the city. At this difficult time we do not need expensive $100,000 employees and administrators in city departments. There are many city employees getting $60-100,000 a year. And we don't need an expensive lobbyist who does next to nothing. If he earned his salary by getting several times his salary in grants that would be different. Renegotiate union contracts if necessary. Insist on reasonable salaries not excessive salaries. No administrator or employee should be paid at a rate of more than six times the lowest paid employee during these difficult times. It is morally irresponsible and selfish to be taking that much while our taxpayers are hurting. It has been shown that the Civic Center library excessive staffing alone is almost equal to the costs of both Busch and Burnette libraries together.

Accept donations of audio-visual and DVDs rather than buy all of them. They should further the education of our children not promote examples of immoral behavior.

And da turn off the lights when not being used and turn down the heat at night.

Perhaps we could encourage the use of volunteers to help cut down on some staffing. Lots of us senior citizens might welcome the opportunity to serve. You could at least provide the opportunity. And the same for Veterans.

Rather than pay $35,000 a year to give prisoners hot meals, beds, weight room, cable TV, conjugal visits, library services, free legal and better medical care than you or I have, let's require them to work. I realize that is a four letter word but most of us have already been sentenced to it for most of a lifetime and why are criminals better than us. I have to work so should they. Especially since I have to work and do without medical care when these criminals are getting free medical care I have to work for to get them. It is not fair to us. Let the criminals work the same as you and me. There a lot of jobs they can do that could reduce costs to our city and state. This could free up funds to save our libraries. Those doing community service could empty the trash, do cleaning, mow lawns, do weeding, pick up trash outside etc. Provide free car washes for library patrons. (Why not? after all we are working to support them and we should get something.)

Over due book fees and rental fees should go to the library not to the general fund. Drunk driver fines could go to our libraries.

How about having guest speakers on topics of interest for patrons?

Instead of throwing away millions of tax dollars to high priced attorneys, demand reasonable rates and give some of those funds to our libraries. It is ludicrous to have to pay attorneys hundreds of dollars an hour. Also sentence non threatening offenders to do community service work helping our libraries. Several thousand dollars are now going to high priced attorneys out of library funds.

We realize that times are tough but the small amount saved in staffing just does not justify robbing our South End children and citizens of our libraries. When you add the value to south end children and residents who are also taxpayers who need and use these libraries it gives a much higher real value. What price do you put on our children's education? Especially when you consider that the average young person spends more time watching TV than they do in school learning. Today's TV contains programming scientifically proven harmful to children including violence, morally, educationally decadent programming, and promotion of sex and violence that average 12 times normal and which includes perverted homosexual programming.

The neighborhood library is a valuable decent part of our children's education that gives them real knowledge they get on their own time when they don't have to worry about the classroom bully or distracted by the teacher yelling at the disruptive hellions in south Warren's overcrowded understaffed classrooms. Our local libraries are knowledge beacons to our children.

And lastly again lets pass a small millage dedicated to the preservation of our neighborhood libraries serving children where they are most needed.

We need volunteers to help us just a little to reach citizens about raising awareness to the closing of our neighborhood libraries. Contact us at

wecare@macombhistory.us

We will be glad to add your comments here also.