County libraries users can breathe again after an optimistic
library governing board passed the 2004-05 budget with no
unexpected cuts. Library leaders already knew there were going to
have to be substantial reductions in the hours of operation at the
individual libraries.
County libraries users can breathe again after an optimistic library governing board passed the 2004-05 budget with no unexpected cuts.
Library leaders already knew there were going to have to be substantial reductions in the hours of operation at the individual libraries.
Morgan Hill Library hours will be reduced from 54 to 30 as announced in April after a parcel tax extension failed in the March election.
Morgan Hill City Librarian Nancy Howe said earlier that she will decide how to allocate her money but it looked as if the 54 to 30 hour limit would be about the limit for her budget.
Currently, the library is open six days a week. A new library scheduled has not been determined.
City Councilman Steve Tate, who is Morgan Hill’s representative on the Santa Clara County Library System Joint Powers Authority, said the board met Thursday afternoon and passed the $23.2 million budget 5-4. The figure is 12 percent less than 2003-04.
“And we’ll meet again on Aug. 26, to change it (when more information is available),” said Tate, who was one of the no votes.
The budget for new books and materials will still be cut but, if all goes as expected, Tate said, no staff will be laid off. This will set the stage for another ballot initiative to restore the parcel tax and, with it, hours and books, but without trauma to librarians.
The reason for optimism is a plea librarians and library boards statewide made to the governor just before the “May Revise” of the new state budget. They asked that libraries be considered a “special district” which would exempt them from the property tax shift to the state and have a catastrophic effect on library budgets.
“If the exemption goes through we won’t have to make any cuts at all,” Tate said.
He was in favor of using some of county library’s technology reserves to cover some staff hours if the special district exemption were to fall through, but the idea did not pass the board. No layoffs are contemplated if the exemption is made.
Morgan Hill’s library is part of the county system which also includes Gilroy, Saratoga, Cupertino, Campbell, Monte Sereno and Milpitas.
It does not include Los Gatos, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Palo Alto or any library in San Jose.
Details: www.santaclara countylib.org/
