City Hall
Voters Could Be Asked to Fund Libraries
The city council could put a new property tax levy to pay for libraries on the ballot in August, the first new tax levy for libraries since 1998.
Although the library system got a $196 million boost with the Libraries for All levy 13 years ago, it gets most of its money from the city's general fund, which has been hit hard by the recession. Over the past several years, hours at city libraries have been cut dramatically, with 15 branches open only seven hours a day, five days a week, and the entire library system closing down for one week each summer. Meanwhile, the library's collections budget has been cut twice during the past two years. Even as the city has cut the library's budget, library visits have increased, rising to a high of 7.3 million visits in 2009.
However, according to a memo from city librarian Marcellus Turner, that trend reversed in 2010, as library users became increasingly "frustrated with sharply reduced limits on the number of holds that can be placed at any one time and the reduced number of items that can be checked out. Predictably, the reduced open hours, services and collections have had an impact," with visits declining 4 percent last year.
"A Library levy could help to strategically restore open hours, fund a healthy collections budget, support the Library as it sustains and enhances public access to technology, and ensure that Library buildings continue to be well-maintained, safe and welcoming neighborhood resources," Turner wrote.
Although the council hasn't proposed a specific dollar amount for the levy, Turner estimates in his letter to the council that the levy would make up some, but not all, of the $50 million that currently goes to the library system from the general fund. And the notes that the city's levies have typically come in below the statutory limit of $3.60 per $1,000 of property value.
Although the library system got a $196 million boost with the Libraries for All levy 13 years ago, it gets most of its money from the city's general fund, which has been hit hard by the recession. Over the past several years, hours at city libraries have been cut dramatically, with 15 branches open only seven hours a day, five days a week, and the entire library system closing down for one week each summer. Meanwhile, the library's collections budget has been cut twice during the past two years. Even as the city has cut the library's budget, library visits have increased, rising to a high of 7.3 million visits in 2009.
However, according to a memo from city librarian Marcellus Turner, that trend reversed in 2010, as library users became increasingly "frustrated with sharply reduced limits on the number of holds that can be placed at any one time and the reduced number of items that can be checked out. Predictably, the reduced open hours, services and collections have had an impact," with visits declining 4 percent last year.
"A Library levy could help to strategically restore open hours, fund a healthy collections budget, support the Library as it sustains and enhances public access to technology, and ensure that Library buildings continue to be well-maintained, safe and welcoming neighborhood resources," Turner wrote.
Although the council hasn't proposed a specific dollar amount for the levy, Turner estimates in his letter to the council that the levy would make up some, but not all, of the $50 million that currently goes to the library system from the general fund. And the notes that the city's levies have typically come in below the statutory limit of $3.60 per $1,000 of property value.
