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What are we to make of what’s going on between our local governments and the Athens-Limestone Public Library?

The Athens City Council voted Monday to reduce its funding to the library by $30,000. In September, the Limestone County Commission did the same.

Each body cited concerns over financial irregularities. County Commissioners Steve Turner and Jason Black said invoices didn’t match credit card statements. They allege library funding, part of which comes from local governments, was used on personal items.

The commissioners’ concerns were shared at Monday’s meeting by Council President Harold Wales, who read a lengthy statement about why the library’s appropriation was cut. As reported in Wednesday’s edition of The News Courier, Wales pointed out the library is governed by a board of trustees, which are appointed by the City Council. He said the decision to cut the library’s funding was meant to “send a message” to the five-person board.

“If the library board addresses and resolves these concerns to the council’s satisfaction, the City Council will certainly consider reinstating the library’s former level of funding, possible as early as midyear,” Wales said.

The concerns of the commission and council deserve to be heard, as their appropriations to local groups and agencies are made with taxpayer money. However, there’s something that doesn’t seem quite right about any of this. If these elected officials know something more than what they’re saying, they really should not beat around the bush.

Their claims up to this point paint Library Director Paula Laurita in a bad light, to put it mildly. However, elected officials refuse to show a smoking gun, if there is one. Why hasn’t board chairman Chris Anderson been invited to a commission or council meeting to address their claims? Has he offered to do so?

Ken Hines asked Wales why the council hasn’t replaced members of the board, given Laurita answers to the board, which in turn answers to the council? If the board is failing, that seems like the correct thing to do.

Regardless, the feet of the library’s board members should be held to the fire from here on out. They need to come before the commission and council and explain what’s happened, what’s being done to correct any problems and what policies are in place to prevent it from happening again. If the issue is Laurita, the board should either find a way to remediate her bookkeeping practices or let her go. 

We believe the library is important. It offers programs and services not found anywhere else in Limestone County, including programs aimed at children on the autism spectrum. For adults, the library has offered courses on honing computer skills and sharpening resumes. Good things happen there, and those things should continue to happen.

The future of some of those programs is now in jeopardy, however, since the library is facing a $60,000 shortfall for the fiscal year. It’s not fair to children and adults who depend on the library. 

Now is the time for the board to swing into action and perform a top-down analysis of the library and its operations. Pay for a forensic audit. Perform an employee analysis. Find out the source of every penny coming in and determine how every penny is being spent.

Do something, and do it quickly. Being on the library board may seem like a great idea, but if you’re not engaged in the organization you’ve been appointed to serve, it may be time to give someone else a chance.