Saving our Darby Library

By Paula Brown

The Darby Library is our Nations oldest continually operating Library. It's the only connection some of our residents have to the Information Highway...and it is about to close in 7 months....We need to work together to save it...and our children's education...

So true are the words of President Lincoln 151 years ago and they ring true today in Darby Borough. History has demonstrated that working against one another continually fails and is demonstrated to this day in Darby, as political factions work extremely hard against individuals because of personal reasons, not what's best for our town.

The recent election this past November clearly sent a message nationwide that it's time for the partisan and "faction" bickering to end. We are in a serious economic downfall and we need to work together, not against one another, so our future generations can survive.

As a fourth-generation resident of Darby, my heart and passion lies within our town. I've seen through the years what our tiny borough once had, how it was the formation of our lives and what it can continue to be for us and our future leaders.

Our rich history that traces back before our nation was formed is too important for us to waste over petty personality and political differences.

Over the past year, I have offered the "olive branch" to work with the current administration in solving our problems. I am again offering that same olive branch and reiterating my plea to work together to save our town, its history and its future.

I realize that to some on our council, drafting, revising and implementing a $7 million budget can be quite exasperating, especially when you are new to the process. When we leave it up to the administrators who are not connected with our town, sometimes the very foundations of our history are diverted to other sources and we lose track of our base. Our library is a prime example.

I have almost 30 years of experience in drafting and revising our budgets and would like to offer help and suggestions for solidifying the operating budget by ensuring that expenses and revenue reflect accurately the needs of our people.

Education is paramount to our future. Our library is the foundation of our education. Currently we only allot $21,329 to our nation's oldest library. That amounts to approximately $5 per home.

Forty percent of our homes in Darby are owned by landlords who rake in thousands of dollars in income, many of whom are delinquent in their taxes. The library tax could be effectively raised and tripled without our residents seeing an increase in their taxes.

There are many ways this can be done. The millage for the library can be raised while the property tax can decrease the same amount. The total millage would stay the same.

Expenditures could be cut that would allow the millage to be lowered. Specifically, the retainer fee paid for the solicitor could be drastically reduced.

For the fiscal year 2008, $74,264.03 was paid to the attorney in legal fees. This is the highest ever paid for a municipal solicitor in Darby. This expense can be cut in half quite easily, if everyone comes together and works with each other and not against.

The role of the municipal solicitor is to advise the council and mayor in legal matters only. However, in the last six years, we have grown to an enormous dependency upon the solicitor and allowed him to advise in all matters, not just of a legal nature.

The solicitor should come to one meeting per month, submit his report in writing at the beginning of the meeting, advise, answer questions and be dismissed. The $200 per hour fee can be reduced by dismissing the solicitor after the legal report. However, he is not dismissed and stays for the entire meeting, several a month.

He researches ordinances, resolutions (not of a legal nature), drafts and writes the final pieces. These are tasks the council can do quite easily and then submit to the solicitor for his advice.

I am offering to work with this administration to save this unneeded expense.

Council also floated bonds for almost $3 million to build a $4.2 million police station next to our library. The principle alone for this bond for 2009 is $122,500. I am recommending that the project for the new police station come to a halt and change the scope of the project to renovate the library for handicapped accessibility and retrofit the building for maximum energy efficiency. With the new stimulus package recently passed, funding is available for projects to retrofit public buildings and turn them into "green buildings." I am offering my assistance to help with this project.

Through Facebook, Myspace and the Internet, we have received the support of people all over the world who want to help us save our library. They've offered solutions, donations and support. If strangers can realize that our library is fundamental to our lives, then we who live here in Darby surely must realize the same.

We are not two separate neighborhoods; we are one. We need to work together, no matter what our race, creed, color or political or personal preference is.

That's what Darby is all about, it's how we grew up and it's how we need to stay ... together ... or the house will surely fall.

Anyone who is willing to help and put our differences aside, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you all for your support.