Councilman Asks Nutter to Get Council Approval to Close Libraries
Councilman Bill Green has sent Mayor Nutter a letter asking him to get City Council approval before closing 11 library branches. In the letter, Green references an ordinance in the Philadelphia Code which states that city facilities will not be closed, abandoned or allowed to go into disuse without approval from Council.
Councilman Asks Nutter to Get Council Approval to Close Libraries
Catherine Lucey
Filed Under: City Council | Nutter
Councilman Bill Green has sent Mayor Nutter a letter asking him to get City Council approval before closing 11 library branches. In the letter, Green references an ordinance in the Philadelphia Code which states that city facilities will not be closed, abandoned or allowed to go into disuse without approval from Council.
A group of Philadelphians are threatening to sue Nutter to keep the libraries open, based on that same section of the code. Green is not part of that lawsuit. City Solicitor Shelley Smith said yesterday that the administration holds that the ordinance is invalid.
To read Green's letter click here.
Comments (10)
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The Philadelphia Free Library is one of the City's great jewels. It is also a great source of economic growth for the City. Quite apart from the concerns expressed over the adverse effects that branch closings would have on individuals, cutting funds on library development would COST the City money, not save money. A study ("Return on Investment")recently completed by the Dean of the University of North Carolina's School of Information and Library Science has concluded that for every $1.00 spent in Pennsylvania on the state's public libraries the community recognized a return of $5.50. If that conclusion is correct (here's a link to the report; you can judge its merits for yourself: http://www.palibraries.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=23), then every dollar not spent on the library is NOT a dollar saved -- it's $4.50 LOST! That does not make it any easier to find a dollar in the current economic circumstances, but it seems to me that it does (or at least should) change the nature of the discussion if we're talking about finding money in order to make MORE money rather than finding money to provide services to individuals. A collaborative pursuit of how to find funds to make more funds -- and how best to use the funds found most wisely -- seems to me a more fruitful approach than one of antagonism among those engaged in and by the issue. -- i.e., money spent supporting the Library Whatever City Council decides to do, there is a very strong economic argument against cutting funding for the Library --— Hector- Bill Green, whose dad was Bill Green (Mayor), is a loose cannon. He should be in the council huddle, rather than the lonesome end. By the way, Sr. was a loner too, and turned his back on the party faithful.— FJG JR
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- FJG...your comment is preposterous. If you want more silent hacks on Council, vote for someone else. At least someone is finally standing up to Nutter and demanding some accountability from this administration. I don't think asking the mayor to follow the law makes someone a "loose cannon."— PHL87
- I'm sure I'm in the minority here. Full Market Value is a bad idea. It will make people, especially the elderly in gentrying neighborhoods, struggle to pay the increasing property taxes. It will also be another reason the city loses more of its middle class population. Even with the revenue neutral policy, it will be a big increase for some.— The_Unknown-Poster
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
Follow Dave on Twitter.
Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
Follow Jan on Twitter
Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
Follow Sean on Twitter
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