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Niagara Falls Branch Closure AvertedNiagara Falls (N.Y.) Public Library trustees avoided a vote to close the LaSalle branch at their November 29 meeting, despite reports in the media that the board president had enough votes to close the branch due to budget constraints and concerns about accessibility.“I’m absolutely, positively going to move that we close the LaSalle Branch Library and mothball it,” Board President Kenneth Hamilton said in the Buffalo News November 27. “And I have the votes.” On November 30, however, the News reported that three of five board members did not support closing the branch. Hamilton’s announcement was in response to the city’s proposed 2007 library budget of $1.6 million. That amount is the same as last year, but Library Director Betty Babanoury told the News November 27 that it is not enough to cover increased contractual expenses such as health care and will not support the current level of services. The board had also threatened to close the branch last year, when the budget was reduced from $2 million the year before. The two-story LaSalle branch was built in 1924 and has no ramp or elevator for accessibility to people with disabilities. The library has asked the city council for funds and applied for a state grant to remedy that problem. Posted December 1, 2006. |
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