Lancaster City has narrowly avoided a tax increase in 2011 – for now. ANY additional expenses (such as an arbitration award) would guarantee higher real estate taxes; this includes restoring library funding. ALL Lancaster City departments are currently understaffed, some desperately so (like the fire department).
Eliminating the “Library System” (except for centralized Information Technology and the Bookmobile) would provide the Lancaster Public Library with more than enough funding to continue its current mission.
Instead of begging Lancaster City for a tax increase, the Lancaster Public Library should be heavily lobbying Harrisburg for its fair share of funding. After all, State unfunded mandates are the single biggest reason that local taxes are so high. Unfortunately, with an incoming governor and legislature sworn to slash State government spending, both Lancaster City and the Lancaster Public Library will soon be dealing with increasingly desperate funding issues.
I am so sick of hearing about the understaffed fire department that I could puke. Most of the reason taxes are so high is that the salaries AND BENEFITS of the police and firefighters have become obscenely high.
Most citizens have no idea what a sweet deal these public unions have – short work weeks, easy days, limited education required, huge salaries, etc. The front page of the Lancaster paper today details how the firefighters in Lancaster are harassing UNPAID volunteers who come into the city under a mutual aid arrangement. Disgusting.
And the article quotes the union leadership as being unaware of who the harassers are.
I was opposed at the time, but now believe Smithgall was correct when he wanted to disband the city fire department. If the only way to do this is to throw the city into bankruptcy and break these outrageous union contracts, then let’s do it.