My dad loved telling the story of the Little Red Hen. Remember this one? It is about a hen that finds a grain of wheat. She asks her pals, duck, cat, and dog, if they’ll help her: plant, cut, thresh, travel to the mill, ground into flour, and turn flour to bread, to which they decline to help each time they are asked. Only once the work is done and it is time to eat do duck, cat and dog wish to participate – and the hen then declines them the bread.
One version of the story is available here.
In the beginning, when our government was formed, we understood we were in this together. We needed a set of rules to protect our common interests. The rules now have overtaken the initial understanding and the belief is that they will provide for us regardless of the effort made on the individual’s part. This is sad, because many today don’t understand what being a good citizen entails.
Either as a person, business, or government entity, one ought to strive to be a good citizen. You can’t sit back, watch everyone else do the work or pay the costs, and then reap the rewards.
An example: immunizations are a tremendous tool in the war against disease and premature death. Yet some people refuse to let their children be immunized, because there is a small chance that an immunization can be harmful. And their child will be safe provided the rest of us immunize our children, thereby keeping the strain from being able to spread. When too many parents become selfish and don’t act, then the disease can grow and spread.
So where am I going with this? To the library of course!
Our library system works because it is supported by municipalities, the state, and community members. In Nazareth, we happen to have a very nice library, with good resources, and many dedicated volunteers. We are very fortunate. I think it speaks volumes about what we value, and it is a tremendous resource for people. Walk in during the day and there are adults who don’t otherwise have internet access using the computers, there are children and adults alike getting books, movies, and audiobooks. There are how-to books for when you want to do it yourself instead of calling a repair person. During hard economic times like the ones we are in, these resources become even more valuable for those hardest hit by the recession.
On Goodreads, I noticed that I’d read twelve books from January through April, at $15 per book (and these were hardcover so that is low), I’d have spent $180, if I’d have gone out and bought them. I can’t imagine how many books my daughters have taken out, I’d guess 10 a month each over the summer and half that during school. Without question I see value for the community and myself.
The recent raucous over the child from Tatamy was a direct result of Tatamy borough refusing to participate as a good citizen in the library system.
If they made a contribution to their home library, like Nazareth, Bushkill, Lower Nazareth, and upper Nazareth do, there would have been no issue. Tatamy, however, does not want to pay. Instead, they reimburse residents who do want to join the Easton Library (their home library) the cost for an individual to join. The catch is that they only get access to the Easton Library system. Since Nazareth borough contributes, I can go to any library.
Tatamy has opted to let everyone do the work and pay the bills for them.
Since the issue arose, Tatamy Happenings agreed to look into the issue, which I think is great. And he made a post about his findings (you can read the entire thing here).
The borough of Tatamy has reimbursed citizens a total of $712.50 from January 1, 2006 to current. It is $30 per adult and $5 per child, so roughly ten people have claimed reimbursement from the borough for the library each year.
The post ends with, “Unless I'm missing something, I can't see justifying an $11 to $14K spend /year when we've only spent just over $700 in four.”
Again, the link to one version of the Little Red Hen is available here.
17 comments:
Did you actually compare immunization to the little red hen? Your metaphors are completely off base.
If I remember right, you were against the NASD raising taxes to build a new pool because the YMCA and Wilson pools provided an economical alternative. But you shame Tatamy residents for not raising taxes to use the Nazareth library because they had a more economical alternative in the Easton library. Next thing you'll be shaming them for is using the Forks Township Giant to do their food shopping instead of supporting the Nazareth Giant.
Yes I did. It is about everyone participating in order to benefit.
I think it is selfish of people to not immunize and rely on everyone else to do so.
Tatamy is no different. They are relying on everyone else to pay for the library, then want to use it.
The "economical alternative" you refer to is actually Tatamy neglecting its good citizenship by not supporting the library as the other municipalities do.
It is incredibly self-serving and not in the common interest.
Nazareth will not benefit financially, Easton Library will, and by doing so Tatamy residents will be able to use either Easton or Nazareth libraries (or any other in the Commonwealth for that matter).
Regarding the other points, not sure what Giant has to do with anything, and yes, I was against adding the pool at the MS, it was a nice to have, not have to have and they had alternatives.
Please do not use immunizations as a comparison. It's selfish for anyone to tell me how my child should be treated medically or otherwise. I love how it is not ok for a parent to choose what they believe is best for their child. We are to rely on what the government decides so long as it is for the "common good." We all need to wake up here and I am glad that MANY parents are starting to question what we are injecting into our children.
NOC,
And so we see the result of what our education system has become.
No, you are not telling people how and when to get immunized, you were simply making an analogy to letting others pick up the burden so they don't have to. Critical thinking people, looking deeper inside the issue than just the surface comments.
I for one agree with your analogy. Tatamy does not want to fund the library, and since the rules are what they are, then residents of Tatamy should not have the same privileges as those residents that are putting their tax dollars into the system.
Is Tatamy right in not funding the library? That is up to the taxpayers and voters of that community, not the rest of us.
You have had many posts encouraging people to write our representatives to not cut library funding. But, I have said before, where do we draw the line when it comes to taxes?
We are going to have a shortfall in schools. They have already served notice that they may not reimburse for dual enrollment classes at NCC for HS students. Most likely we will see some program cuts, and maybe even layoffs similar to what BASD just did.
You can only get so much money out of the taxpayers before there is nothing more to give, and we are quickly getting to that point.
What is the right answer? I don't know. What I do know is that across the board, Federal, State, Local and School Taxes are going up and up, yet due to the economy, most paychecks are staying flat or even going down (pay cuts and increased taxes).
Will I ask my State representatives to save library funding? No, we need to cut as much as we can, even if it hurts. Unfortunately, we will probably see our local taxes go up to cover shortfalls as the library will most likely increase the local contributions from municipalities, which will probably have the effect of more of them dropping out.
May I remind everyone that the voters in Tatamy several years ago actually rejected a referendum for a tax increase to support the library. I'm trying to get some information from the Northampton County Board of Elections and will pass that along.
The feedback that I've been getting thus far from the Tatamy residents is that they like things the way they are.
May I also remind you that Tatamy does not have the rax revenue from commercial and businesses that the other communities that choose to support the Nazareth Library, Tatamy Borough has the highest millage in all of the Nazareth Area School District, with a budget that's stretched to the limit. There's nothing that can be cut - we're at the bare minimum. Should we choose to support the library, this will have to be put to the voters - they will need to approve the tax increase (amount yet to be determined) if / when the time arises.
Once I meet with the library folks tomorrow, I'll at least have some more information from their side. Right now though, things are what they are. I'm getting very tired of hearing that Tatamy "refuses" to contribute to the library and as a result our citizens are being punished. Here's the situation in a nutshell:
1. Are we contributing to the library? No.
2. Are our citizens able to join a library? Yes (Easton).
3. Are we reimbursing half the library fee for those citizens who choose to join the library? Yes.
Bottom line - to me it seems like a win for everyone. Everyone except for the Nazareth Library I suppose. Should they choose to reconsider their position and allow Tatamy residents to purchase a membership (like they used to do), I'd welcome the discussion. For now though, it's up to the voters.
Rant over . . . whew.
the analogy doesn't work me for Ross
not immunizing your child is your choice but your child benefits from the herd immunity and thus your child is protected while you opt out
tatamy is opting out in financial contribution to the library but what/where is tatamy benefitting if they don't have access to the library? did i miss something?
One more thing . . .
In all the media flap and everything else going on about the Nazareth Library and the complaints about Tatamy's supposedly not stepping up to the plate, why then is everyone complaining about the situation BUT the folks from Tatamy?
Just some food for thought. . . .
Kelley,
Tatamy has access to the Easton library system and they pay pennies on the dollar for it ($100-$200 per year compared to a several thousand everyone else pays).
If every municipality took the view Tatamy does the library system would outright fail.
Nazoranter - there are many place to cut and I agree you can't save everything, but it grinds me when there are clearly wasteful areas of spending that will be protected because they are personally beneficial (ie helps people get re-elected).
It is pretty clear to anyone who reads the post that I'm an advocate of the library, and when I receive announcements from them I'm happy to post and help out in my own little way.
Chris,
I genuinely appreciate you looking into this situation. There are two levels to this, one is more philosophical (what ought Tatamy do), one is more practical (what will Tatamy do).
I made this post on the "ought".
The point I made earlier to Kelley is true, if every municipality took the approach that Tatamy did, the library system would shut down. Tatamy benefits because everyone else is doing the right thing.
"why then is everyone complaining about the situation BUT the folks from Tatamy?"
Simple, pay next to nothing and still have the ability to use the library.
"I'm getting very tired of hearing that Tatamy "refuses" to contribute to the library and as a result our citizens are being punished."
Tatamy does refuse to contribute. That is a plain fact. The citizens of Tatamy are benefiting, the rest of the Easton Library municipalities (not Nazareth), get to pick up the slack and pay more as a result - I'd say they are being punished by Tatamy's choice.
"to me it seems like a win for everyone. Everyone except for the Nazareth Library I suppose. Should they choose to reconsider their position and allow Tatamy residents to purchase a membership (like they used to do), I'd welcome the discussion."
The only 'winner' is Tatamy. They pay little and get to use a library putting the burden on others. I hope Nazareth is smart enough not to accept Tatamy until they begin paying in full like everyone else. If they accept Tatamy, I guarantee other cash strapped municipalities will consider the same.
Tatamy is looking at this purely from the perspective of what is in my own best interest, not what is in the common interest.
That was my point from the beginning. Tatamy isn't alone, you see this quite often. It is a shame, and it probably a contributing factor to many of the problems we see in society today.
aha, got it--- thx for the clarification ross---
Maybe a little humor is needed in this this thread.
I suggest that in order to pay for access to the Nazareth Library Tatamy writes more traffic tickets and also hires Cool Treats to sell Ice Cream at their ( many nice ones actually) community events.
You forgot to criticize Stockertown too. How dare these small boroughs with little commercial tax base not raise their residential real estate taxes so Ross can read $180 worth of books for free.
NOC,
Don't get me wrong, I believe the library is an asset to our community for the reasons you outlined. It provides services to others that may not have or are able to afford them otherwise.
I see this getting worse before it gets better. Just like the State budget, I think we will see existing contributing municipalities start to cut their spending, and the library is an obvious choice as opposed to maybe infrastructure repairs.
If I remember, a year to so ago Upper Nazareth was on the brink of cutting their funding to the library, and won't be surprised if it comes up again, as well as with Lower Nazareth and Bushkill.
Maybe a "pay to play" strategy is in order for those whose municipality doesn't contribute, or maybe an annual fee (say $10) to have a library card.
I know there will be screams of "we already pay taxes into the system", but these are extraordinary times, and I believe those that use the library (such as yourself) would probably ante up.
Jimbob, love your idea for the ice cream truck, but be real careful of its placement, that appears to be a very controversial topic in these parts.
Ross,
I want to say thanks for this opportunity for a lively discussion. There are quite a bit of opinions formed here - and I will say that each one presents its own valid argument.
I will learn more tonight at the board meeting - take it back to our community, and let the community decide where they want to take it. Ultimately it's their decision.
Chris - thank you. We need more elected officials at all levels, willing to get engaged in these discussions and take multiple points of view into consideration without looking down on those that have differing opinions.
You're welcome Ross and I agree - more public officials need to get involved in these sorts of issues.
As I said, I'll go to the meeting tonight with an open mind, listen to what they have to say, bring the discussion back to our community and let the people of Tatamy decide what's best for the people of Tatamy.
Stay tuned - this isn't over yet.
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