Fears that the library system operating Morgan Hill
’s library could lose 21 percent of its funding by the end of
2005 and have to severely reduce services have mobilized some
Morgan Hill voters into action. Those voters will kick off a
campaign Saturday in support of Measure B on the March 2
ballot..
Fears that the library system operating Morgan Hill’s library could lose 21 percent of its funding by the end of 2005 and have to severely reduce services have mobilized some Morgan Hill voters into action. Those voters will kick off a campaign Saturday in support of Measure B on the March 2 ballot..
The “Yes on B for Books and Hours” campaign will hold forth Saturday at 1 p.m. in the historic Morgan Hill House at Villa Mira Monte, 17860 Monterey Road (just south of the Wright Avenue stop light). They urge residents from throughout the South Valley to stop by and find out about the measure.
“We hope people will want to pick up information and yard signs so their neighbors will get the message too,” said Councilman Steve Tate. Tate is Morgan Hill’s representative to county library’s Joint Powers Authority, the organization’s governing body. He is also emphatically in favor of Measure B.
The measure’s task force is hoping to recruit library fans to phone voters and even walk selected, easy-to-walk precincts.
Measure B is a property tax assessment that would replace one passed in 1994 that expires in 2005. The current assessment appears on annual property tax bills in the sum of $33.66. If Measure B passes, the new assessment would be $8.34 more, or $42 a year for seven years.
What Measure B does not do is build Morgan Hill a new library. That is a separate issue that will be presented informally to the City Council on Wednesday, Jan. 21. The measure concerns itself with operating funds for current facilities throughout the county library system.
If Measure B goes down to defeat, not only will Morgan Hill’s library be open fewer hours and offer fewer books and services according to library officials, but the entire Santa Clara County Library System will be hurt also. Morgan Hill and Gilroy are part of this system, along with Campbell, Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Saratoga and Milpitas. The unincorporated areas, such as San Martin, are included in the Morgan Hill/Gilroy area and will also have a vote. Voters in each city will have to approve the measure for the entire system, not just their own library area.
“A 20 percent cut will really affect our library,” said Jeanne Gregg, chair of the Library Commission and co-chair (with Roger Knopf) of the Measure B committee. “They will have to cut hours back from the current 54 to as little as 30 and there will be so much less money to buy new books, videos, magazines and newspapers.” Gregg said she had the figures from City Librarian Nancy Howe.
“We might be able to staff the library about 30 hours a week,” said Howe on Wednesday. Howe said she came to the numbers after wrestling with projected revenues and expenses.
Knopf described the numbers vividly.
“Going from 54 hours to 30 would be losing 45 percent of the hours the library is open,” Knopf said. “It is so important to keep the library open at least as much as it is now.”
During an earlier economic downturn in the early 1990s, the local library was open for business only 34 hours a week. This time, the situation looks even grimmer.
“It’s less than $9 a year,” Gregg said. “It’s the cost of one video rental or a paperback book. And library users get so much for their money.”
