San Diego County Libraries
Get Property-Tax Boost
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a three-year plan April 4 that will provide an additional $8.5 million for the system’s 31 branches.
The April 5 San Diego Union-Tribune said the plan calls for a 24% increase in operating hours, with all branches open at least five days a week; children’s librarians at branches that don’t have them now and new young-adult programs; a new Books-by-Mail program; a doubling of the materials budget, to $1.7 million over three years; more than $600,000 for computers, printers, and databases; and $1.4 for building repairs and ADA upgrades.
The new funding follows two years of negotiations with state legislators to allow the county to permanently reallocate some of the growth in property tax revenue to the library system. Legislation authorizing the funding was signed into law last October. Normally, state law restricts county special-district library systems like San Diego to only a small percentage of local property taxes.
“We’re attempting to not just provide more hours, but provide some consistency,” said county Librarian Marilyn Crouch.
Posted April 24, 2000.
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