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Salinas Tax Measures Fail; Libraries Will Shut DownSalinas, California, City Manager Dave Mora announced November 3 that he will recommend that the city close its three libraries after residents voted down two out of three tax measures that would have raised between $9.5 million and $12 million for city services annually. The city council had decided in September to close the libraries—as well as shut down some of its recreation centers and cut police and fire services—in order to weather a projected $9.2-million deficit.“It’s a pretty sad day for the residents of Salinas,” Councilman Sergio Sanchez said in the November 4 Salinas Californian. At least 71 FTE positions, nearly half of them library staff, will be eliminated in January. “We don’t have enough money,” Mora said. “You can’t run a library without paying people.” Measures A and B (a sales tax and a utility tax on industrial users) failed outright, while Measure C (a business-license tax) was squeaking by with a margin of less than 350 votes at last count on November 5. Mora said that even if the city council decided to keep one library open, an estimated $1 million would have to be cut from public safety. Councilwoman Maria Giurato told the Californian she wants to look into creating partnerships with Hartnell College and Monterey County Free Libraries. In California and other states, library tax measures met with mixed results on November 2. Two notable successes were in Stark County, Ohio, and Fargo, North Dakota. A full report on the year’s library referenda and bond issues will be posted on this website later this month and published in the January 2005 issue of American Libraries. Posted November 5, 2004; revised November 15, 2004. |
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