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Library Closings Averted in OaklandOfficials in Oakland, California, have averted the closing of seven of the city’s 15 library branches in the wake of massive state budget cuts announced last month by Gov. Gray Davis. However, Mayor Jerry Brown and City Manager Robert Bobb’s revised budget, released February 4, eliminates 15 library positions, 11 at the main library. The cuts to the libraries, originally $2.1 million, were reduced to $875,000, the Oakland Tribune reported February 5. “The community came out, and we won,” said Ann Katz of Save Oakland Libraries in the February 5 San Francisco Chronicle. “I’m amazed. It’s so hard to move bureaucracy.” However, Robb warned that future cuts are possible, including rotating branch closures. Gov. Davis announced that he was giving up on his proposal to eliminate funds the state has given cities to compensate for reduced vehicle-licensing fees, which Davis slashed by two-thirds in 1998. The plan to end the $4 million in annual payments to the cities met with stiff resistance in the Legislature, the Los Angeles Times reported January 30. Posted February 10, 2003. |
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