Photo Credit: Darrenjsylvester

Mark your calendars. You won’t want to miss the week of February 23rd. It’s going to be a monumental one for the future of Philly’s libraries. That’s when the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania will hear oral arguments surrounding the Nutter administration’s appeal of last month’s Common Pleas court ruling, which mandates Philadelphia to keep open 11 libraries that the city intended to close.

So, what can you expect from the Nutter camp during the appellate process? To give you an idea, take a look at this legal brief that the administration drafted to get Common Pleas Court judge Idee Fox to change her mind before making her final decision. (Obviously, the Nutter folks weren’t convincing enough since Fox stood by her decision in the end). This brief gives you a basis for what the Nutter administration’s arguments will be. For example, the Mayor’s lawyers will argue that the Common Pleas court decision interferes with the Mayor’s obligation to run a balanced budget. City officials had planned for the 11 library closures to generate $8 million in savings to help fill a $108 million spending hole.   

One key subject of interpretation left to the Commonwealth Court will be the notorious 20-year old municipal ordinance that requires the Mayor to get City Council approval before shuttering city buildings, such as libraries. In Common Pleas court, Judge Fox upheld the law and says Nutter ignored it in his plans to close the libraries. In Commonwealth Court, the Nutter team will argue the ordinance is invalid and that Fox’s supportive ruling of the law undermines executive power.

In the meantime, the Nutter administration is complying with the lower court’s ruling and keeping the libraries open, though at a cost that is expected to bring reduced hours at all city libraries to either three or four days a week. While the Commonwealth Court will review the case on an expedited basis, don’t expect an overnight decision. Lawyers involved say a decision is likely to be handed down in the spring. Say the Nutter administration doesn’t prevail in Commonwealth Court, then the case could go to the state’s supreme court.

Is anyone out there supporting the Nutter administration’s arguments? Or do you feel torn in between the Mayor’s camp and the group of library patrons fighting to keep the libraries open? Of course, we’d like to hear from the library advocates out there and about what comes next. A new round of protests, perhaps, against citywide reduced library hours? What kind of movement can Philly expect to see?