Press Releases: 05/07/08 LEGISLATORS IANNELLO AND KONST RELEASE 2008 DEVELOPMENT PACKAGE 05/02/08 Media Advisory 03/26/08 LEGISLATOR IANNELLO ANNOUNCES INCREASED AID FOR LIBRARIES 01/15/08 LEGISLATOR IANNELLO APPOINTED TO STATE COMMITTEE 01/14/08 LEGISLATOR IANNELLO CALLS MEETING REGARDING GRAND ISLAND TOLLS JANUARY 17

Michele M. Iannello - District 10 March 26, 2008 LEGISLATOR IANNELLO ANNOUNCES INCREASED AID FOR LIBRARIES Erie County Legislator Michele M. Iannello, D-Kenmore, has announced that the Erie County Legislature voted in favor of an additional $1.6 million dollars in Library restoration funds in the 2008 budget. This brings the funding back to the 1998 level while enabling the Libraries to meet a growing, high public demand for services. Legislator Iannello stated, "As a member of the Legislature's Community Enrichment Committee, I have worked very hard to restore funding to our Libraries. This increase is meaningful to all the branches in that it will allow libraries to remain open longer hours and it restores enough funding to allow special programs from toddlers to seniors. I have just received the information for each branch and want to share the good news." Over $818,000 has been added for staffing for additional hours throughout the County, and $782,000 was restored for service provision programs, such as pre-school story time, computer access for persons with special needs, cataloging of historical and rare book materials, and literacy programs to name a few. Specific to the 10th District, Grand Island Memorial Library will be open on Tuesday evenings, providing 4 hours of public service, lost during the 2005 Crisis. Additionally, it restores system funding to re-open a full day on Fridays, providing 7 more hours of public service. Staffing reconfiguration will also take place to support these extended hours. The total amount of restored funding for the Grand Island Memorial Library is $16,363. "I am delighted that we were able to achieve this additional funding for the Erie County Public Library System, Grand Island in particular. This is good news and demonstrates that the cost cutting measures I have supported in non-essential areas are of benefit to the residents of Erie County. The Erie County Library System is a vital institution that is needed to maintain the quality of life our residents deserve," concluded the Legislator. Back to District 10 Homepage