Library lovers may have a reputation for mildness, but actually they're fierce defenders of what they view as a top priority for City of Salem funding: keeping our libraries (main and West Salem) open a decent number of hours, staffed by a decent number of employees.
Jim Scheppke, the retired State Librarian, is a tireless advocate for the Salem Public Library. Here's some recent Facebook posts from Jim.
And here's a post from Scheppke about decreasing crime in Salem that is relevant to the library funding question, because "public safety" often is cited as deserving to be the top budget priority given that crime rates supposedly have been rising.
That isn't true. Not nationally, not locally. What Scheppke shares below are raw crime numbers for Salem, not crime rates. Since Salem has many more people now than in 2009, the year from which these trend lines start, a graph of crime rates likely would show a declining trend.
The Salem Public Library has suffered much deeper proportional funding cuts than the Salem Police Department. Given that crime has been steady or declining, it makes no sense to demand that the library endure more cuts to staffing and hours in order to preserve police services.
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