Correspondence was read aloud at the beginning of Tuesday’s Warren County Library Commission meeting for the first time in some time. Most of the letters and emails were regarding the contents of November’s executive session and the newly released draft of the library bylaws. Another common question raised in correspondence to the commission was regarding the amount of money allotted to attorney services in the budget; while the commission is responsible for the allocation of funds within the budget, the budget is ultimately divided up by the county.
The board discussed an annual audit from an independent auditor hired by the county; audits are posted on the county’s website and cataloged in hard copy at the library.
First Public Comment Section
Early in the meeting, the public was allowed to comment on agenda items so that they could be heard before the bylaws were possibly voted into effect. The public had concerns regarding the resolution to amend the commission’s bylaws, particularly section 4, which allows the chair of the commission to possibly omit certain sections of the agenda as long as there are no objections from other members of the board. This section brought concerns due to the possibility that the chairperson could omit public comment, further straining the already tenuous relationship between the commission and the public.
Another point of contention brought up in comments was the amendment of the rules of conduct and decorum; the public echoed disappointment that the proposed amended rules of conduct and decorum did not include a section regarding correspondence being read at meetings. The Commision’s Attorney Joe Bell offered that the current rules of decorum were rendered obsolete because they were implemented during covid and stated that the commission is not required to address correspondence in the rules of decorum. He added that the new rules of decorum will be very similar to the current rules.
Further comments from the public expressed disappointment with that explanation, but there was discussion that the library commissions of Somerset and Hunterdon Counties read the correspondence in full, which the board took note of. Chairperson Pasquarelli announced that in the wake of the public’s feedback, the vote was postponed, and the bylaw subcommittee would meet one more time to finalize the bylaws.
Library Commissioner’s Report
The Library Commissioner reported that New Jersey Maker’s Day was a great success, and a few recent updates, including updates to the circulation policy, which is currently incongruent with the main library policies. She also discussed amending the membership policy for out-of-coverage memberships and a fee waiver for a disabled veteran. She finished by announcing the new livestreaming setup implemented by the County, which, along with previous recordings are available on the library’s website.
Closing Comments
Despite the tensions of previous months, the meeting ended with a slightly more optimistic interaction between the board and the public, closing on a hopeful note.
Julien Smith is a student journalist from Northwest New Jersey. He has had a lifelong fascination with all things journalism, and mentors elementary and middle school aged kids with the program “Indy Kids” in NYC. He lives in between Hope and Blairstown, and usually can be found puttering around his garden or with his nose in a textbook.
- Julien Smith, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/julien-smith-contributing-writer/
- Julien Smith, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/julien-smith-contributing-writer/
- Julien Smith, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/julien-smith-contributing-writer/
- Julien Smith, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/julien-smith-contributing-writer/
