If you have heard that the Library Staff Association has been seeking a written contract and you are concerned about the possible impact of such a contract on your taxes, we want to assure you that the Staff Association shares your concern about presenting a responsible budget to the community. The library's 1999-2000 budget was passed in May 1999 and monies are in place to accommodate a fair contract without any increase to the taxpayer.

It is now more than two years since the Staff Association asked for a contract but, despite the board's public statement at last month's board meeting that a contract was very close, the staff still has no contract and there is no end in sight. The contract that the Staff Association is seeking would maintain the current salary structure and benefit structure and would be clearly in line with the budgets that Bryant Library taxpayers have approved every year in the past.

The continuing delay in completing negotiations risks further destabilizing the position of the Bryant Library in our community and hampering the library's ability to move forward to meet the challenges of the future.

We hope you will attend the next library board meeting on Monday, Dec. 20 at 7:30 p.m.

The Bryant Library Staff Association