03/17/05 Local Government Fund Press Conference
More than 350 people attended a press conference on March 16 at the Ohio Statehouse in support of Ohio's local government funds. Library staff members stood alongside firefighters, police officers, county commissioners, parks employees, and representatives from Ohio's cities, villages, and townships urging legislators to restore Ohio's local government funds.
A coalition of five organizations that are supported by Ohio's library and local government funds asked legislators to maintain current local government funding and form a commission to look at the future of local government funding. The commission, which would include representatives from the House, Senate, and the local government coalition, would be charged with making recommendations on providing a stable, permanent, and predictable funding formula for local government funds that provides for reasonable growth over time.
Stephen Hedges, Director of the Nelsonville Public Library system, spoke on behalf of Ohio's public libraries during the press conference stating, “Librarians are now struggling to stop the continuing deterioration of our public library funding. We are encouraging our legislators to end the erosion of the LLGSF. But even more important, we must motivate the legislature to stabilize library funding and move it to firmer financial ground.”
Hedges was joined by Kerry Metzger, Tuscarawas County Commissioner; Don Plusquellic, Mayor of Akron; Brad Core, Amanda Township Trustee (Allen County); and Larry Peck, Deputy Director of Franklin County Metro Parks.
The local government fund coalition includes the following organizations: the County Commissioners Association of Ohio, the Ohio Municipal League, the Ohio Township Association, the Ohio Library Council, and the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association.
03/16/05 Local Government Fund Press Conference News Release
03/16/05 Library Fact Sheet Distributed at Press Conference
03/16/05 Speech by Stephen Hedges, Director of the Nelsonville Public Library system
