"A library implies an act of faith." -- Victor Hugo
Think about that. And think in truth, in crystal clear vision about those that would use it for political gain or threaten it with cynical manipulation of fact - from either side. Think about that. Think about them.
Who's community is it? It's yours.
Rise above, my friends. Stay positive. And remember this: most of these people, on either side of the despoiled coin, are sincere in their distorted views of truth and reality. And that's why we need to take charge. The ready middle, the angry independents, the so-called moderates, who are in fact the vast majority of the electorate. The third way, the middle path, is set before us. We must act.
The reckoning for what kind of community we desire, the kind of community that grasps the importance of world-class library if we want to be a world-class city is this November, on the second, in just 11 days.
Vote on November 2 and vote YES on the first library initiative listed - Proposal 1 - that was determined in the light of day in front of and with the input from hundreds of library supporters, in public meetings the entire community was invited to attend. The others? No one knows. They don't talk, won't admit who is really behind this. Their strategy was done in the dark, the people behind it remain hidden, and honestly, do we need to know anything else about them?
It's up to us. We are the gatekeepers of the future of Troy. Believe it. Believe in yourselves and believe in your neighbors. We can alter the path of cynicism, but it starts with us. We are up to it.
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21 comments:
10-28-10,another million buck fund raiser
Troy Marriott,in the dda's area,of TROY.
Detroit's Dave Bing,,speaker
I don't get your point, Marv. So Dave Bing is in town for someone's fundraiser and because it's being held at the Marriott within the DDA district we should, what, get a piece of the action?
Okay, you are probably making the same point you keep making, that someone should do fundraisers for the library. Nice idea. Who? These fundraiser are not cheap. Doing them in nice locations, like the Marriott, are pricey. Hiring professional fundraisers is not cheap. And I would imagine that Mr. Bing's professional sports pals are coming in from all over. The point is, no one has the money to get the money. No one has professional sports friends in Troy (Maybe Steve McCatty will send us $50) and besides that, this is a Troy problem and requires a Troy solution. We need to fix this. There is no guarantee a fundraiser will raise funds, particularly since most people think Troy and its residents are responsible for their own library. This talk about fundraisers and rich people is getting us nowhere. Besides, we raise a million bucks and then what? It takes at least $4 million to run the library as we ran it last year, with 80% part time staff, thousands of hours of volunteers, etc. We run a lean ship at the library. Too lean, in my view. We just lost another great librarian due to our inability to compete.
The point is, while I appreciate your ideas, they don't solve the problem. It's up to us to solve it and keep if for the community, managed by the community, and yes, funded by the community.
if 1.5 Billion dollars is collected in the 48098-99 zip codes, every year..there plenty of money in TROY,,why? the DDa's..do a fund rasier 4 TROY's 'new' Library?? because I beleive,,these people in the DDa..do not want a library,,as I said .I tried to work with the TROY library,,over 5 years ago,,to do independent fund raisers,,I got a BIG,,I do not want your help..ever since then,,I put,,the people running the library..on my "watch list' of destoryers of TROY,,,I also tried working with the nature center,,after,I saw,,a codo development,,already..planned to put in that area of TROY..I basic-ly work on cleaning pollution in TROY,,but many in TROY ride Troy in2 the ground
just think,again,in TROY's unAudited DDa area..collects over a billion bucks,,but NOT one fund raiser is/are 4 city of TROY needs..I get my numbers from..Charity navigation.web site.
also.I can name about 20 people in 1968,,that were poor,,now thx,to non-bid type contracts with the city of TROY, now,millionaires..and Still crying 4 more Unbid contracts..
remeber in 1968 there were only about 17,ooo people in TROY,,and I knew and drank with all the ,shooters' of that time.
Troy High had over 3500 kids.
I was a student rep,,at city council meeting,,run the high school paper..started about 100 clubs,,1st chair trombone,for most of the 4 years,
and been very active in TROY,,and yet,,I'm a NON-factor,,never asked for any commitees,because I'm honest..not corrupt.
city concerns used need a high school gym..because 1,000's would show up..now only about a couple hundred,,WHY? because the people 'learn'they input is laugh at,,and they only recourse is 2 VOTe NO.
the Re-hireing of the Z-man reinforced that concern.
on the face book page.now is almost 500,,should be 5000.really 15,000 if u want the library. u can delete and stick your head,in the sand,,but TROY's treatment of the common folk is terrible..
just last thursday, I was informed at my card met,,that the only black person in the group,,was cornered in Troy and scare out TROY.and I bet that person,,is crying to many outside Troy.
Footnote..when only you and me are the onlky ones commenting,maybe 2 others,that's a problem.
It would be helpful for those that are looking for the truth to see the *details* of the proposed library budget. All that I can find on savetroylibrary.com is that "existing budget estimates and other library experts" were used for the budget estimate and millage request.
You betcha, OnTheFence! One indisputable truth is: the very first board of the new library will by law be appointed by the current Troy City Council, made up of the same crew that passed the Option 1 budget in May. This would be the budget that left the current library in shambles and will ultimately close it in July 2011.
Contary..the new board will "picked' by the Z-man..Approved by the city conucil.and will run the Library,,Till the z-man decides,,when and if it is organize.
Bloomfeild not have-ing a library..on Yahoo.4 two days
saw this article in the WSJ. Maybe the City Council would spring for this setup if Proposal 1 fails?
Hey,LeaningTowardsNO: Who's going to guard the lock boxes? The untouched-by-budget-cuts Troy PD? Maybe they can also do outreach to home-bound patrons--in their spiffy squad cars!
if the city wanted a library,,every leader of every service,social,religion,culture,Troy leadership,leadership Troy,Oakland leadership..most of the TRoy's board of Education..and Ms hodges have a matching funds raised to support the NEW independent Library,,,BUT silence like a lamb.
and when the PRO=library,one sided meeting,,outed that..Woman's voter orgazation,,as just a democrat front,,that was the decide-ing fractor in TROY.
These very rude people enforced the Z-man,s attitude towards us pee-ons,,we do not count.
I went to the city hall this monday,,even when I knew there was no meeting,,the people who tried to go to that meeting were all leaning on the fence people and were very hurt,,there was no sign,,state-ing NO MEETing,I explain,it's on TRoy's website.the response,opps to busy working to take tiime to look on a computer,
First of all, in response to Marv's last comment, I understand that most if not all of these people do support Proposal 1 and some of them have been public about it. Many of these folks, particularly the business people, simply don't want to alienate the other side and who can blame them? Have you said one thing about their outrageous flyer, the one filled with lies and manipulations? No, you've been silent. So should we take that as Marv supports those lies? I haven't called you on that because I think that's wrong, but you have no problem attacking people just because they don't operate the way you think they should. Also, the League of Women Voters forum that you disparage here was only "one sided" [SIC] because the other proposal authors didn't attend, didn't respond to invitations to attend, refuse to defend their proposals publicly, even refuse to acknowledge their proposals publicly. Why? Because it's part of a cynical conspiracy to undermine the people's right to choose. And you? Silence.
The LWV forum was just that, a forum on the proposals ON THE BALLOT. That's what they do. And since it was a very professional environment and one where someone like Rhonda Hendrickson or Christine Hage could respond directly, instead of one of those Council bitchfests where the Council just sits there and takes it, they are silent. There is no courage of principle there because beyond "no" there is no principle.
And you're comments are off point, once again. I'm trying to get a discussion going here and people make comments, often interesting ones, and you come rolling in with your regular complaints. If all you want to do is complain and keep repeating the same complaints, please go somewhere else.
Leaning No,
Thank you for your link. I've seen those. And they are just what they claim to be, vending machines for books. I want a Kit-Kat bar, but oops, the vending machine doesn't have that. Would you like something else? Hmm.
This is service vs. access argument, to a point. But access through these machines is very limited access. Best sellers, probably. Classics? Maybe a couple. But it's not a library or even a poor facsimile of one. In the future we'll see something like this, in an electronic format you can download to your electronic reader. Prototypes exist. And once they're really on the market you'll probably see them first where you typically see new product offerings regarding books, at the library. The library today has thousands of electronic books available 24/7 through the web page. It also has medical, literary, research and business databases available 24/7 as well. TPL is a model of efficiency and service, though not the service it provided last year due to extreme budget cuts. And service is really the mission of a public library. As Anonymous points out, and something not often mentioned during this campaign or discussion, but over 1,100 titles are delivered to homebound seniors and others every single month. There are many services that we don't have time to mention in this environment.
Same old crap, Marv. I'm getting complaints from other commenters that you are squelching debate due to your diatribes. Everyone is tired of it. Can't you spend some more time over at the TCU page?
I comment on 40-50 differ newspapers,TV,and radio websites almost everyday,for over 15 years,,I believe the Troyites can prove President Obama ,and Mayor Schillings are right,,Americans R very under taxed,,and want to much 4 too little.
Come on down to the VFW,,,the national VFW,,supports,,US REP. Peters,,and Barbara Boxer..or stop at the senior center,and ask the seniors how they feel about paying $20 single or marrried $40,,2 play cards..last year free.and when the CITY wants to use their room..with no advance warning,,their room is taken,,and there day of cards is canceled
I pay 4 at least 3 seniors,,as the police found out,,I have 10-15 people work 4 me in Trailer park,,because these Have No real Jobs.
Ask any charity collecting money outside where I shop 4 food,,I donate at $20 bucks..
I tip at 20-35%..why..I care about lost causes,,but I was told,,we DO NOT want you.5 years ago...as I was told u..there is NO way to donate to this library.
I really hope your Library Lives..and if I stopped every one from everyone talking on your site,I hope all these people get angry enough 2 at least vote,,in a 100k city only 20,000 vote,,way to little,
this is my last comment on your website,,
Mayor of TROY in 2016
Barry, can you address this comment?
It would be helpful for those that are looking for the truth to see the *details* of the proposed library budget. All that I can find on savetroylibrary.com is that "existing budget estimates and other library experts" were used for the budget estimate and millage request.
OnTheFence has a point. What about hiring at "new" library? Will there be a new HR/Personnel dept., or will it "temporarily" (like the first board) be done by one person, i.e. the director? That's a lot of power to be invested (temporarily?) in one person. Surely, the Save the Library folks discussed some of these practicalities before crafting this millage request. Any details out there?
These are great questions. Unfortunately, they ran smack into reality. The reality is, there is no board to decide because the election hasn't been run, much less won. I know there have been some planning discussions about expenses and operations (there damn well have better been), but they are just that as far as I know. And even putting those out there, at this point, in the face of the TCU campaign of deception would be inviting controversy that would be difficult to explain this late in the game. Let me be clear, I don't like this. I think pure transparency would be appreciated by the majority in this community right now, and damn the manipulations of the TCU. That's how I feel and I think the community at large feels the same way. And we have to face the reality that, yes, in the interim, before there is a board (and maybe afterward if we don't have a powerful board), the library director will be invested with a lot of power. That's just the way it is. She has a lot of power now, so it's not really different. Hopefully she will tread thoughtfully and carefully.
Regarding hiring, one can presume, I believe, that most of the staff, the people who have made the library what it is, will be retained. Also, assuming the library can reopen on Saturday, a primary goal, I would presume some of the laid off staff would be rehired. I don't see how anyone else could otherwise be hired. As for the librarians, they've all retired (though working part time at the library) except two, as far as I know. So we're only talking about two of them at this stage. Anything less would entirely undermine the enterprise and demonstrate a form of governance we've all grown disgusted with at the city level. Good will needs to be built over time and starting off on the wrong foot will damage the library and its place in the community and I think everyone gets that.
As for the mechanics, it's hard to say. I don't care that at "other libraries" the director hires everyone after the board appoints her/him. That's a recipe for legal action. HR professionals must be involved in the process. And that begs the question, how do we pay for these new services?
Many of the "new" costs being bandied about are not new. Clearly the IT contract is one such example. The library already contracts with IT as an internal customer. I understand the building department contract with IT was essentially unchanged during the handover to Safe Built. I would expect something like this to happen at the library (FULL DISCLOSURE: I could very possibly benefit more than anyone should the library take IT completely in-house, so I think my comments here are beyond reproach). I don't know as much about the overhead burden in the current and former budgets for the building and building maintenence, but I think it's fair to assume there is something akin to a "general and administrative" overhead line item out there that has some of those costs buried in it. HR costs would be there too, I would expect. However, I'm told this is not the case. I can't imagine a finance guy like Mr. Lamerato wouldn't capture as much of his overhead costs from his cost centers as he could. It just isn't a credible assertion. But the city has done some incredible things so I can't say with any level of certainty.
My point here is that there has been a lot of talk of "new" costs and burdens that I'm not convinced are new, or at least as significant as they may appear on the surface. But if Proposal 1 passes, the questions will have to be answered and the city will have to be fair in negotiating for assets already funded by and paid for by the very same taxpayers who will be funding the library - if it passes. Double-dipping, if you will, will not be tolerated by current Proposal 1 proponents and certainly not by current Proposal 1 opponents. This too is a reality that also should put minds at ease given the hysterical and absurd note from Mr. Howrylak.
Thanks for the clarification(s). To riff on your Victor Hugo quote: This library might require a suspension of disbelief!!!
I hate to say it, but exactly. If we can get over this hurdle, we can then begin to build a community of trust around this library. But first we have to get past this hurdle.
As I sit here and watch the returns on the library come in, it makes me want to respond to the above blog entry.
The Director of the library as well as permanent full time librarians should be required to apply for the open positions.
As we have all witnessed the library has gone down in customer service, credibility, as well as fostering a distrustful administration that makes the staff feel stressed with lack of empowerment. This needs to change for the good of the patrons, city, and staff.
The new Board's first job should be to set up job descriptions and set a hiring process in action.
This, however, could very easily be a moot point due to the animosity and distrust that has grown due to the Council, City Manager, and Library Director.
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