Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 28/00) - The decision to reduce library hours and staff has been reversed by city council.

Both will be reinstated as of May 1.

Eight casual library employees received their layoff notices in January after the city's 2000 budget reduced library hours of operation by eight per week.

The cutback would have saved just over $47,000 this year.

Coun. Cheryl Best revisited the issue in council chambers in March, saying the early closures on Wednesday and Friday evenings, and Saturday mornings had caused public disapproval.

During Tuesday's session, several councillors agreed the decision was a mistake in the first place.

"At the time we passed the motion I was fully aware and expected that we would get significant negative feedback on our decision, and it came to pass. So I wasn't surprised by it at all," said Coun. Robert Slaven.

"I would apologize to the staff of the library and to the dedicated patrons that this has become a political football -- that wasn't my intention," he said.

Slaven then suggested possible alternatives that could raise funds for the library, although he was not in favour of charging user fees.

One solution was to implement a program whereby patrons would donate money to the establishment. In return, their name would appear inside a library book to acknowledge their generosity.

Coun. Cheryl Best admitted she first thought eight hours per week in library cuts was "a small price to pay for $47,000 a year of taxpayers' money."

"I've learned my lesson. I don't think it was worth it at all," said Best.

In the future, Best said she hopes council will take a closer look at ways to better expand city services while, at the same time, operating in a cost-efficient manner.

"I will be doing my homework and bringing forward to the community, at some point, some recommendations of how we can make better use of the services at the library," she said.

According to Coun. David McCann, council wasn't dealing with a "full deck of cards" when the decision was initially made.

"Maybe we acted a little too quickly ... we can't manage what we can't measure," he said.

Coun. Alan Woytuik addressed the matter in a different approach.

"I believe that some hours should be reinstated, but do necessarily all of them have to be reinstated? I don't think so. I think there is some compromise that could be worked out here," said Woytuik, who ultimately voted against the motion.

As of May 1, the library will again be operating on its 1999 schedule. The funds for restoring the hours and staffing will be taken out of the city's general operating fund surplus.