bridgewater

Last month, we learned about how Bridgewater is expanding the hours of operation for its library and senior center during a time when many other communities are cutting services and laying off staff.  It was refreshing for me to learn about Dover, another community that has come together to make its public library an even better place than it used to be.

“The people here value their library,’’ said Cheryl Abdullah, the Dover library’s director. “It’s amazing to see. People use the library as a tool of the community.’’ Abdullah credits the Friends of the Library, a support organization, with raising awareness and money.

“In Massachusetts, state funding for libraries was cut from about $33 million in fiscal year 2008-2009 to about $24 million last year. The state funding this fiscal year is about $21 million, according to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.”

Despite the cuts in the library system, the Dover community has not slowed down in supporting its library and kept it afloat through its efforts.

Difficult economic times are also an opportunity for our state to come together as an community to learn about what we value in our cities and towns, and to decide how we pay for the services and structures we all care about. Civic engagement efforts across the state are playing a key role in helping our friends and neighbors understand both the role of government in our lives, and our own roles in supporting initiatives and reforming the way we provide for services in our state.

Let's hope that we keep hearing about more and more communities that are supporting their public structures the way we've seen residents coming together in Bridgewater and Dover. If you know of other communities please do not hesitate to contact us!

Ordinarily, it wouldn't make headlines. But the fact that the town of Bridgewater is expanding the hours of operation for its library and senior center during a recession makes headlines for several reasons.

First of all, while many in the state Legislature are saying "taxes" is a forbidden word during this election year, Bridgewater residents voted for a $2.8 million Proposition 2 1/2 override last month.

Times are tough everywhere, with deep cuts to funding for schools, public safety and public services in this year's and next year's budgets. Bridgewater Town officials responded by holding school funding steady and cutting everything else.

Bridgewater residents responded by voting in favor of an override 57 percent to 43 percent. According to local political activist John Palmieri, Bridgewater residents wanted to preserve their quality of life in the town:

“I heard people who had historically voted against the override say, ‘I have to do this to save my town,’" Palmieri said. "I hadn’t heard that before, so it was a different sentiment and it really translated into the vote.”

The override vote followed nine straight years of budget cuts that saw city services slashed and library hours cut to 14 a week. The library is now open 26 hours a week.

Town Manager Troy Clarkson says the town is now beginning the process of rebuilding its infrastructure.

“This is the beginning of building a better Bridgewater,” Clarkson said. “The community came together and saw the importance of moving forward to rebuild this community.”