MARIETTA, Ga.,None — Hundreds of Cobb County residents are banding together to fight potential budget cuts that threaten public services. A proposal to close the majority of the county's public libraries has raised the most uproar.
"Libraries are the cornerstone of society. I can't tell you how it upsets me to think the library's closing," a library patron, nearly in tears, told Channel 2's Ross Cavitt.
County commissioners will likely decide on cuts that range from parks to buses to senior centers at a 9 a.m. Tuesday meeting. Most of the cuts would go into effect May 1. The library proposal would bring the number of county libraries from 17 to four.
Commissioners met together to hammer out cuts in a day-long series of budget meetings Monday, but no conclusions were reached. A few yards away, library proponents protested with a "read-in." Quiet protesters marched with signs and read books to show their opposition to the cuts.
Meanwhile, a sign on the door of a packed East Marietta branch marked the proposed upcoming closing date and encouraged patrons to confront county leaders. Library proponents have already flooded commissioners with thousands of emails. A Facebook page, "Save Cobb Libraries," has attracted more than 2,000 followers. The page encourages residents to sign a petition and make their voices heard at Tuesday's meeting.
"No signs will be allowed in the meeting but there is nothing they can do about T-shirts," the site says.
Commission Chairman Tim Lee said the library closings, deeper cuts and tax hikes may be necessary to close the county's $32 million deficit. He said commissioners have been exploring their options thoroughly.
WSB-TV Library protest sign "Looks like we may end up like Washington, going to the last moment to get the budget where we need to be, but we give and take and go back and forth," Lee told Cavitt.
Libraries may be toward the bottom of the county's long list of services, but maintain relevance in the digital-era for many like Joann Woodliff, who left the East Marietta branch with an armful of books.
"Well, there are a lot of us who aren't on the internet, so we need the libraries," Woodliff said.
WSBTV
