OPINION: Town Meeting Must Spotlight Dedham Library

Before it allows one cent for , Dedham Town Meeting will need clear, public answers.

Town Administrator Bill Keegan plans  to the Dedham Library.

Last year, the Dedham Library Trustees had serious troubles.

because the trustees , and good. If the parties disagreed on how to run the libraries, they should part ways.

But there are still lots of questions. Who sent the letters to the telling them they were fired?  Because it was not Lambert, and she is the only who had the administrative power to send such letters. Then who wrote the letters? Trustees need to answer this publically. . Trustees are elected town officials in charge, and they did not take charge. They have no power to demure out of courtesy to the letter writer. This is a clear transgression. Town Meeting cannot approve roughly $1 million in library funds without this answer – and others.

Why did some trustees know about those workers’ dismissal-rehiring and others did not?

How did Dedham over the years that it needed to qualify for all its state aid and therefore had to file for special treatment?

Why did the trustees shift their decision to and then close the other library?

Why did on her way out the door? Turns out it was and not a major issue, but it should have been addressed immediately. Why not handle it as soon as it came up?

What is the financial setup of the library and are any changes planned?

Of course there are all the normal questions about the buildings, , hours of operation, any new programs and other matters.

Everybody wants a sterling library system. Like schools, they are something people look at when buying a home in a community.

To ensure the libraries work well, Dedham needs to give them a thorough inspection this year.

Given all the problems the library has had in recent months, Town Meeting cannot simply rubber-stamp the budget.