First, by way of clarification, Hardin Fiscal Court did not sell the public library branch in Radcliff.
In a 6-3 vote last week, Fiscal Court approved the sale of a vacant, surplus structure and property at 800 S. Logsdon Parkway, accepting a bid of $300,000 from the Hardin County Schools.
That wasn’t the library. The north branch has been gone since September 2020.
The building does serve as a symbol of Radcliff’s sense of abandonment at the loss of government services. In rapid succession, the city lost an auto registration satellite office, a place to renew a driver’s license and the branch library. The decision to sell the building to restore money invested in a new roof for the county’s sole remaining library building renewed that sense of outrage.
Local residents again brought out picket signs to protest. Just as those messages seem mildly off focus because of the plea to save a library already abandoned to financial realities by the Library Board, other related points of debate seem a tad off.
For example in public meetings and social media, some have asked what gives an unelected library board the authority to close the branch without public approval. It’s the same authority that allowed the board to build the structure, outfit it, staff it and operate it for decades.
The library board is a duly appointed group of volunteers charged with oversight of library operations including all spending. It works in just the same way as the water districts, Extension Service, Soil and Water Conservation District, area development district and countless other governmental entities which operate with appointed board members. It’s a form of delegation authorized by state government with members vetted and selected by our elected officials.
As local residents, we can’t only care and be involved when it’s a matter of personal importance. We have to try and understand the workings and exercise our influence routinely to be effective.
In this situation, Hardin County’s issues are unique. Most Kentucky counties have a dedicated library tax on property bills, Hardin County does not. Most Kentucky counties have a single significant population base surrounded by rural areas. Hardin County has six incorporated communities and at least three that are larger than any town in LaRue, Meade or Breckinridge counties.
The library board repeatedly faced the challenge of distributing services equitably with financial resources of less than $1 million per year. In recent years, the library board twice asked to establish a taxing district. In 2015 and 2018, the proposal met with vocal opposition and the idea was rejected by Hardin Fiscal Court.
Decisions have consequences. The library board saw a need to trim expenses based on the reality of its budget. After years of reducing hours, limited staff and modifying expenditures in other manners, it reached the unfortunate decision of closing the north branch. Nobody liked the idea, including library board members.
In a sense, Hardin Countians have the library that we are willing to pay for.
Another frequent question was why sell now? With Judge-Executive Harry Berry and most of the magistrates ending their service at year’s end, why not wait and allow people elected in November make this decision?
Tabling the matter was considered and rejected Tuesday by fiscal court before the decisive vote to sell the property. Even if it had been delayed, it still would have been an empty structure, not a public library.
Elected officials leaving office face a horrific Catch 22 situation. If they coast and do nothing, we call them a lame duck and wonder why they deserve to be paid. If they fulfill their assigned duties but use their experience and judgment in ways we dislike, the chorus of complaints is even stronger.
To some in local government, this sale is simply tying up a loose end on an already resolved matter of policy. It’s not the same emotion-charged issue that people in the north half of the county feel.
That fact is reflected in the vote. The three magistrates elected to serve geographic districts north of Battle Training Road, all voted against the sale. Magistrates living south of that line said yes.
Of the six who voted to sell, only Judge Berry owes allegiance to any voter in northern Hardin County. Magistrates represent a sliver of the county and represent one-eighth of the county population.
Hardin County briefly embraced and experimented with the commissioner form of government in which candidates were drawn from specific equally proportioned districts based on population but on the ballot for all Hardin Countians to consider. After a taste of that system, voters quickly reversed course and re-established the magistrate system.
With the county commission, each voter was a valued constituent of all four voting members. With the nine-member fiscal court, each voter has two representatives — the judge-executive and their local magistrate. That puts you in a 7-2 disadvantage when it comes to being heard.
To repeat, decisions truly do have consequences.
This editorial represents a consensus of The News-Enterprise editorial board.
This editorial represents a consensus of The News-Enterprise editorial board.
link