Thoughts on Jackson and the FRL issue
To the Editor:
I have just finished reviewing the comments and commissioner discussion from the June 3 Jackson commissioner meeting in regard to leaving the Fontana Regional Library system. I want to thank Mr. Letson for the position he stated. It is one that I agree with.
A couple of points struck me as ones that might be particularly important for these commissioners.
• The $500,000 additional cost Mr. King's preliminary analysis showed would be added to the budget if we leave the FRL.
• The preliminary analysis did not seem to include the one-time expenditure to reconstitute the library outside of the FRL, lawyer fees or the proposed professional budget analysis.
• The possibility of time and money that may be spent in a potential lawsuit. Yancey County residents have already retained a lawyer and will be filing a First Amendment lawsuit. I have no knowledge of anything like this happening here, but I would not be surprised if counties banded together to support this lawsuit.
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• Micromanagement: I empathize with being made uncomfortable by certain passages in the couple of books that keep being flagged during meetings. Some of them make me uncomfortable, too. However, books and displays that promote social, religious, philosophical or political ideologies for kids that I disagree with actually make me equally uncomfortable. As citizens we will not all agree, and sometimes we will not agree on issues that each of us might hold dear to our hearts as part of our moral compass.
• There is already a process that citizens can utilize to challenge books. I do not believe that it is within the purview of county officials to micromanage and/or take over that process, regardless of which political party is in control. It is a slippery slope (and perhaps not legal) to have governmental leaders intrude on appointed board or committee processes; it is a centralization of local governance that I am extremely uncomfortable with.
• The commissioners have indicated that the library has been unwilling to compromise. It has been difficult trace this argument. The public doesn’t actually know what "demands" have been made of the library since the 10-year FRL contract was signed in November 2024. Weren't the last two years of negotiations all about compromise? We are only about six months into that contract. What are these demands?
• Most importantly: I do not see in the "Statutory Roles And Responsibilities For NC County Commissioners And County Managers" any reference to the legal duty or ability of county commissioners to insert themselves into any of the specific decision making processes that any of the boards or committees they oversee utilize. I only see that they are responsible for the overall governance of the county and ensuring the efficient delivery of county services.
I expect the commissioners to take the limited scope of their responsibilities as elected officials to heart. This is an expectation I have for all of my elected officials, regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum.
Teri Cole-Smith
Whittier
