We sent an email to Ms. Martinez of the Morley Library asking several questions:
1. What do they plan to do with all the money in their fund balances?
2. Why do 72% of people in their district choose not to use the library?
3. Why do they want to take away the vote of the people by asking for a “continuous” [read: FOREVER] levy?

Here is her reply – no doubt with assistance from someone on the Board of Trustees.  We shall call him “Mr. Continuous”, since he has a history of supporting continuing levies, thereby removing the vote of the people.

Mr. Massie,
The Library has no existing public record documents that pertain to your requests, aside from the Library’s strategic plan, annual reports, and Board minutes describing Library activities and goals. All of these are freely available on the Library’s website.
Aurora Martinez
Executive Director of Morley Library

It is really too bad that the Board of Trustees and Ms. Martinez do not feel the need to answer questions from the voters in their taxing districts.  We were also going to ask them why they feel the need to service 14,682 borrowers with 61,000 square feet of building.  Here is a summary of the square footage of the main libraries in Lake County.  Please note that Morley Library is second only in size to the Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library.    Comparison of Borrowers vs Sq Footage

We would like to give you a easy test to determine if you can see the difference between these two buildings.

   Taj Mahal

Do you see the difference?  Well yes, one does provide full employment for a couple of window washers, but there is another huge difference. ………………….. Ok, it may not be that obvious…….

• Between 2 to 4 million people visit the Taj Mahal every year. UNESCO has designated the Taj Mahal as a World Heritage Site and it is also one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
• Morley Library services only 10.4% of the total borrowers in Lake County, but they have 23.9% of the total square footage of the  main libraries in Lake County.  They have 52,404 people in their service area, but only 14,682 registered borrowers.  That means that 72% of the people in their service area choose not to use this magnificent, but far too expensive edifice.  It has become a millstone around the neck of Lake County taxpayers.
• They have built a “Taj Mahal” that no one wants to visit.

Lobbyists For Citizens has previously announced that our 2018 “Chutzpah Award” has been given to Morley Library’s Board of Trustees for their sheer audacity to try to slip by the Lake County taxpayers the fact that they want to remove the future vote of the taxpayers by changing their renewal levy to a “continuous levy”.  Please remember that “continuous” means FOREVER.  Their Board of Trustees can spend your money as they see fit, and you can do nothing about it.  We were hoping that “Mr. Continuous” would be accepting the award on behalf of the library.

SAVE YOURSELF FROM BEING PRICED OUT OF YOUR HOME WITH THE EVER INCREASING PROPERTY TAXES.   VOTE A RESOUNDING NO TO THE MORLEY LIBRARY CONTINUOUS [FOREVER] LEVY. 

Categories: Lake

Tags: FT