To the Editor:

There are two ways to waste taxpayers’ money. The first is to pay too much. For example, paying $715 a square foot for a library addition when commercial space is available for about $100 a square foot. The Crystal Lake City Council seems to have come to understand this definition of waste. For this I salute them.

The second way to waste taxpayer money is to buy something taxpayers don’t need in the first place. Even if you get a great price, it’s still a waste. For example, moving the library to a different location without being able to identify one single, tangible benefit to patrons that is worth increasing their property taxes by millions of dollars.