The Times
The Westfield Washington Public Library Board of Trustees voted at its Dec. 15 meeting to reduce services hours, as well as staff hours. The board was notified in October that the library will be receiving an estimated reduction in revenues of approximately $160,000 for the 2010 budget year due to property tax caps and a reduction in the COIT (County Option Income Tax) distribution.
"This was a very hard decision to make," said Library Director Sheryl Sollars. "We've had to reduce other areas of the budget to deal with the loss of revenue in previous years so the library board and I felt that this was the most equitable way to handle the current estimated reduction. My number one goal is always to provide an excellent level of service to our patrons. We felt that opening the library one hour later each day would have the least impact on our patrons. This will also ensure adequate staffing levels when we are again able to open the library at 9 a.m."
Starting Jan. 2, 2010, the Westfield Washington Public Library hours will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.