Naperville should treat library as a priority

As I watched the city of Naperville's first leaf pickup crew drive through our neighborhood, which is all they could do because the leaves were all green and still on the trees, I thought "Thank goodness they're cutting all that financial waste at the library."

Yes, of course I'm kidding, although nobody seems to be able to tell anymore. When times are tough, as they are and will be for a while, sensible people look for ways to eliminate waste. Frankly, I have a hard time believing that waste is evenly distributed throughout Naperville's government, and I'd be willing to bet that the library system wastes a lot less of its funds than some other recipients of tax money.

Some examples of apparent waste are obvious. Why can't we write the leaf pick-up contract so we pay them only when there are actual leaves to pick up? And, as one of our readers has pointed out, why can't we put up Christmas lights in such a way as to be able to take them down and reuse them?

But we all know that, in the hundreds of millions of dollars we spend, most of the fat is hidden, marbled throughout the meat rather than hanging there tempting us to cut it off. That's the hard fat to get rid of, the fat that's jealously protected as part of someone's little fiefdom.

Cutting that hidden fat also doesn't send a message to the public that you're serious about saving money. For that you need to close the library one day a week, cut the lending period from three weeks to two, and buy fewer books. You need to cause pain.

It's only my opinion, but I think things like buying fewer books, not updating computer equipment, and especially cutting the number of electronic databases that are available is very poor economy.

Naperville's 90,000 cardholders are even more dependent upon the library system during a recession than they are when times are good.

I also have to mention, however, that the library board has been particularly tone deaf during this crisis. Every week, I get several letters from readers who are absolutely furious about the way our taxing bodies spend money. Last week, they were all about the capital improvements for the libraries.

Yes, they understand the capital budget is separate from operations but, to them, this doesn't seem like exactly the right time for replacing skylights and carpeting, restriping parking lots, redoing signs and checkout counters, and installing irrigation systems.

I think the message to the city is clear. The library system isn't just another budget item, like road salt. It's a priority. Treat it that way.

Contact Bill Mego at bill.mego@sbcglobal.net.