San Diego City Council instructed the city attorney August 8 to draft an ordinance that requires more money to be spent on libraries, parks, and recreation each year. However, council members failed to agree on a fixed percentage to earmark for libraries as proponents had suggested.
The request immediately followed the failure of a budget measure proposed for the November ballot that would have asked voters to require the city to increase library funding until it reached 6% of the general fund. San Diego’s current general fund of $675 million only includes 4.1% for library spending, according to the August 9 San Diego Union-Tribune. The city attorney’s office said the measure was in violation of state law and the city charter, which gives the council sole discretion over the budget.
Library supporters viewed the ordinance as a welcome substitute for the ballot measure. “I think they’ll see that the needs of the libraries are seriously considered,” Alberta Waggoner, president of Citizens in Action for Local Libraries, told the paper. “We knew there was concern for libraries but for some reason it never translated into action.”
Posted August 14, 2000.