On Tuesday, the Lafayette City-Parish Council will vote on a resolution to re-dedicate money from the library to pay for  roads, bridges and drainage.

For students Jorah Johnson and Emily Istre the idea of taking unspent money from the public library to support roads, bridges and drainage is a no brainier.

“If they can find something useful to use it for in the library, then go ahead and keep it.  I feel like if you can use that money to help the community and better everybody else’s life, then I think they should definitely donate some,” Istre said.

“I feel like it’s a little selfish to keep all of it to yourself; if you can help someone else with it,” Johnson added.

According to the agenda, the proposition in essence calls for re-dedicating $18 million of the library’s $26 million fund balance for the purposes of construction, improvement, operation and maintenance of roads, bridges and drainage in the parish. It’s tax money, therefore voters will have to agree to it in a special election.
    
“What’s the alternative? Let the river flood again? Let all these huge drainage problems cost us millions and millions of dollars?” business owner Robert Guerico stated.

Guercio doesn’t believe the intent of the proposal is to compromise the integrity of the library’s operations. “I think its government seeking a way forward to solve a problem with a very limited amount of money,” Guerico added.

“It’s a choice between: Are we supporting the whole community?  Are we kind of just keeping it for ourselves?  I don’t have an answer.  I couldn’t tell you which way I would go,” Lafayette resident Philip Gould said.

In April, voters turned down the tax renewal for the library would have generated an estimated $3 million a year.