news-record.com

GREENSBORO — After hearing at least a dozen library backers ask for more public money, the county commissioners may reduce $490,000 in cuts proposed to Greensboro and High Point libraries.

“Some adjustments can be made,” said Melvin “Skip” Alston, chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, after Thursday’s hearing on the 2009-10 budget proposal.

Making adjustments is the new mission for commissioners, as the board will start tweaking the $585 million budget recommendation from County Manager Brenda Jones Fox in coming weeks.

Most public comments focused on cuts to school and library funding. Alston and other commissioners have said that Guilford County Schools can always come ask for more money.

But commissioners appear ready to take a softer stance when it comes to the Greensboro library, which would lose $400,000, and the High Point library, which would lose $90,000.

Most arguments from library supporters focused on the utility of libraries beyond being a place to check out books.

“We ask you not to balance the budget on the backs of the poor and the unemployed,” said Steve Allen, president of the Greensboro library board of trustees.

Allen told commissioners about his mother borrowing a neighbor’s car to take him to the library as a boy. Others spoke about the county’s unemployed using the library to build resumes and apply for jobs online.

“At this critical time, there are many children who can’t afford to go to Barnes & Noble,” Allen said.

“Certainly, they make a good argument,” Commissioner Bruce Davis said.

Commissioners will hold a budget work session May 28, and have another hearing scheduled June 4.

The county must pass a budget by July 1.

Contact Gerald Witt at 373-7008 or gerald.witt@news-record.com