At last night's meeting of the Lafayette City-Parish Council, it was decided that you and I, the voters, should decide whether or not funds from the library should be rededicated for use in repairing roads, improving drainage, and funding parks and recreation.

A resolution passed last night will put the issue of rededicating $10 million from the library's $26 million dollar fund for other uses before the electorate in October. Legally, that's the only way public money dedicated for one use can be transferred for use in another way.

The way the resolution describes how the rededicated money would be is used is like this. $8 million of the proposed $10 million transfer would cover road and drainage projects in the parish. The remaining $2 million of the $10 million would be used to fund Lafayette's Parks and Recreation Department.

Supporters of the library say the money should not be rededicated but instead would be better served if used to build a new library. Currently, there are portions of northeast Lafayette Parish that do not have a dedicated library in their area. Those areas are served only by a bookmobile.

Still, other council members felt the $10 million was not enough. In fact, the original idea was to take $18 million of library funds for use in road and drainage repairs.

The bottom line is this. You and I will have a chance to voice our opinions at the ballot box in October. After all, it's our money and it's good we get to decide what's the better use for the money we pay in taxes.

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