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Politics & Government

Up to 10 Security Cameras to be Placed at Library

Motion to hire security guard at library voted down.

The Montville Township Library Board of Trustees unanimously approved a plan Monday night to install up to 10 cameras in the .

The board would not go as far as hiring a security guard though, as a motion to approve approximately $1,400 per week for a security guard was voted down, 4-2, with one abstention.

After a , including a drawing of a swastika in a children's bathroom, the discussion at Monday night's meeting centered on security at the library.

The approved motion for cameras allows for up to 10 cameras located throughout the library, possibly with audio, and with one camera potentially located in the parking lot, a suggestion by the Montville Township Police Department.

Although the exact figures are not yet clear, the board approved up to a maximum of $11,000 to be spent on the cameras, which will be installed soon.

"One of the vendors said he could be here tomorrow," said Tim Braden, Township Committee liason to the board.

Although the board was in concurrence, after some deliberation, about the issue of security cameras, the board was split with regard to hiring a security guard for the library.

After the staff and members of the community expressed safety concerns at a special meeting on Tuesday, April 5, board president Howard Chesler proposed at Monday night's meeting that the board approve $1400 per week to hire a security guard.

"I think until perps are caught, the staff are still rattled," Interim Library Director Allan Kleiman said.

"I'm just thinking a private security firm might be over the top," Trustee Dave Dalia said.

Board vice president Lisa LoBiondo claimed, however, that hiring security "seems to be standard operating procedure" at other libraries.

When the motion came to a vote, only LoBiondo and Chesler voted yes, with Braden, Dalia, Peter J. King, Sr. and Donald P. Kostka voting no. Beth Godett, the superintendent's alternate, abstained and Thomas Mazzaccara and Robert Lefkowitz were not present by this point in the meeting, although they had been present earlier in the evening.

(Editor's Note: In a previous article about the Library Board , Montville Patch mistakenly reported that the final vote for the budget was 6-3. The actual vote was 7-2. We apologize for the mistake, which has since been corrected.)

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