Conley: Library Most Important Boro Asset

This spring, Councilman and mayoral candidate Bob Conley held a series of town hall meetings to learn what Madison residents value most about their community.  Overwhelmingly, the participants named , followed closely by the fire and police departments. Conley states:  “At the March 14th Council meeting, I asked the Mayor and Council to sponsor a town hall meeting.  After the majority of Council members rebuffed my proposal, I decided the issues were important enough to set up a series of meetings on my own.”

Conley began the meetings with a review of the sources and uses of the Borough revenues and the financial obligations Madison faces.  A series of discussion questions to gather the opinions and recommendations from the residents followed the presentation.  At each meeting, the most appreciated community services were the library, fire and police departments.  Conley comments:  “The residents who attended consistently emphasized how important the library is to every resident from pre-schooler to retiree.  The Madison Public Library is in constant use.  In fact, after Hurricane Irene, 900 patrons passed through the library doors in the first eleven hours after it re-opened. Without these town meetings, we would never have known how important the library is to the people of Madison.  The Council needs to know that when we make decisions.  If elected mayor, I want to be able to give everyone a chance to be heard.  In the 2011 municipal budget, the Council came to the consensus to support a capital expenditure in partnership with the library’s own funds.  We must honor that commitment.”

Robert Conley