Fellow mayor gives Fischer a 'failing grade' on budget and communication

MIDDLETOWN, Ky. (WDRB) -- Joyce Anderson knew her neighborhood library, Louisville Free Public Library's Middletown branch, might be closing, but she didn't know it would happen so soon.

On Wednesday, a sign on the door of the Middletown branch announced to visitors it will be closed for good after its normal hours this Saturday.

"I cried. I cried. Still get emotional about it," Anderson said. "Because I love this place."

Anderson apparently wasn't alone. WDRB News received multiple reports of children crying after learning the news Wednesday.

Mayor Greg Fischer's office made the surprise decision to quickly close Middletown and Fern Creek branches weeks before Metro Council passes a budget. While friends of the Middletown library were aware it's been on the chopping block for weeks, they had hoped it could be saved, or at least kept open through the summer, after a successful petition drive culminated in a rally for the library Saturday.

On Wednesday, Middletown library patrons weren't the only people surprised by the abrupt closures. Middletown Mayor Byron Chapman was too.

"That was just a slap in the face," Chapman said. "No, I was not kept in the loop."

The longtime mayor served on Fischer's transition team but was critical of Fischer in an interview Wednesday, especially when asked what grade he'd give Fischer throughout the budget process.

"Well, you know, I'm from the old school. He'd have a failing grade," Chapman said. "Both for the communication and, I feel, for the service provided to this area, considering the amount of help we give them."

Chapman said he feels Fischer is giving Middletown the "short end of the stick," but more importantly, he feels he was kept in the dark and wasn't at the table, or even near it, when decisions were made that affect his city.

Aside from the Middletown library branch, he's also worried about losing the LMPD Eighth Division substation connected to it.

"I think it's very important that the Eighth Division is in Middletown," Chapman said.

LMPD will be leaving the building too within the next year, and Chapman feels he's been kept in the dark about that too. He's worried if LMPD moves to a different portion of the division, it could mean longer response times for Middletown, which Chapman points out is growing by leaps and bounds.

"I have not been given an answer as far as where they're going," he said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Fischer refutes Chapman's assessment and said Fischer's administration called Chapman a couple of times but never heard back.

"Teresa Lajara, who is our liaison with Council and our suburban city partners, spoke with Mayor Chapman about the closing of the Middletown library personally on the day the Mayor introduced his budget in April. In early May, she reached out to meet with him and left a voicemail that he didn’t respond to. She reached out again yesterday and again didn’t get a call back. In addition to this, she met with and shared the Mayor’s budget proposal and a press release specifying plans to close the Middletown branch, with the Jefferson County League of Cities, and asked that they share with all members," wrote Jean Porter, Fischer's spokesperson. "We very much appreciate our relationship with our partners in the suburban cities and have tried to keep them informed. These are not cuts any of us want to make but cuts that are necessary because of the increased pension obligation and the Council vote against new revenue."

Chapman, though, believes that explanation is spin and sent WDRB News an email that seems to show he had a meeting scheduled with Fischer's administration and LFPL that was canceled by a liaison for Fischer the day before the meeting was slated.

Despite the cuts being felt in his city, Chapman said he and others are already working on a plan to find a different home for a library and the Eighth Division.

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