Shall We Cut the Budget for the Genealogy Library?

Budgets are tight and cuts are being made. The genealogy library in Edgefield, South Carolina has come under the budget microscope. The following excerpt is from a much longer article on the county council meeting gives some idea of the tight cash situation cities are dealing with.

Edgefield SC

Edgefield, SC—Edgefield County employees may soon have to step up and pay for part of their health insurance. Edgefield County Council Chairman Monroe Kneece says their budget, like most every other county’s, requires cuts.

Monroe Kneece, Chairman, Edgefield County Council: “I’ve been there 22 years. This is the worst I’ve ever seen it.“

This is another point of contention: the county budget allots more than $17,000 to the Genealogy Library.

Councilman Kneece says hundreds of people a year use this facility; they stay downtown and spend money on gas and food.

Kneece: “So that’s a very slim investment to bring in that kind of money.“

Blackwell: “And I don’t necessarily disagree, but I do think we have to look out for the county’s operations first and foremost. That should be our priority.“

Despite the “healthy debates”, what they do agree on, is that the budget is tight…and in the end, something will have to be cut.

Read the full article in the April 29, 2009 edition of WJBF.com.

About Leland Meitzler

Leland K. Meitzler founded Heritage Quest in 1985, and has worked as Managing Editor of both Heritage Quest Magazine and The Genealogical Helper. He currently operates Family Roots Publishing Company (www.FamilyRootsPublishing.com), writes daily at GenealogyBlog.com, writes the weekly Genealogy Newsline, conducts the annual Salt Lake Christmas Tour to the Family History Library, and speaks nationally, having given over 2000 lectures since 1983.

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