In a response to constituents that sent letters to his office, City Councilor-At-Large, John Connolly, said he expects the Boston Public Library to propose 4 options to meet its budget gap. Of the four proposals, three will recommend neighborhood branch closings. Below is an excerpt from Councilor Connolly’s response.
“One frustration on my end is that I have no concrete plan specifics and I await BPL’s formal proposal as you do. The last news that I heard is that BPL is going to submit four proposals to the BPL Library Trustees on April 7 (the options presented will include a no closure proposal and proposals with 3, 5, and 8 respective branch closures). The trustees will vote on April 9 whether to accept any of these proposals. The Council will receive the entire City Budget on April 14. Delivery of the budget to the City Council will give us the opportunity to hold hearings with BPL relative to their entire financial situation for the coming fiscal year and any envisioned closure plan. In the meantime, I will work with you to push BPL to explore all options that allow moving forward in a way that supports our neighborhood libraries.”
Councilor Connolly is one of the nine City Councilors that signed a letter to the BPL urging against neighborhood branch closures.
