Butte County Library, CA, Could See Budget Halved

• Library's budget already cut 23 percent
• Another 27 percent cut proposed
• Extra Sheriff's Dept. funds could help

Butte County Library (BCL), Oroville, CA, is no stranger to hard times. The six-branch system has endured mid-year budget cuts of 23 percent this month, but the situation could get much worse. The county board of supervisors has proposed an additional 27 percent cut for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.

If enacted, BCL would see its annual budget plunge from $3.1 million to $1.5 million. BCL, located about 75 miles north of Sacramento, is mostly funded by the county’s general fund. It serves a county population of 218,779, with last year's budget just over  $14 per capita.

Sheriff's deal to the rescue?
BCL’s director Derek Wolfgram told LJ that a late-breaking deal brokered by the Sheriff-Coroner Department (SCD) "ironically, might save us." A contract signed with the federal prison system to house some of their prisoners will generate enough money to cover the SCD’s share of pending budget cuts and generate an additional $1 million for the county’s general fund. 

This amount could cover a substantial amount of BCL's proposed cuts, but there's no guarantee that the money would go to the library. "I don’t deny the budget situation is bad," Wolfgram told LJ, "but the library shouldn’t have to take such a disproportionate share of the cuts."

Arguing against cuts
Indeed, Wolfgram has advocated pointedly for the library, even telling the Chico Enterprise-Record that public safety cuts should be considered to avoid major loss in library service. "This is a 67% reduction in employees, and a 64% reduction in FTE," according to a memo Wolfgram wrote to the supervisors in March, which he shared with LJ. 

He continued, "In FY 2007-08, the most recent year for which statistics are available, the Palo Verde Valley Library District in Blythe, CA had the worst ratio of residents served per FTE staff" in the state: 10,593 residents served per FTE staff. BCL’s proposed cut would provide a ratio of approximately 17,000 residents served per FTE, or "60% worse than our nearest ‘competitor’ for this dubious distinction," he wrote.

BCL began FY 2008-09 with 39 staff members (35.25 FTE). One staffer was laid off in September, and three vacancies and eight filled positions were eliminated in March, leaving 28 staff members (26.25 FTE). The proposed budget recommends eliminating an additional 15 staff members, leaving a staff of 13 full time employees.

BCL already has reduced hours; two branches are open only six hours a week. The proposed budget would cut hours by 71 percent, from 219 per week countywide to 60 (12 hours per week at Chico, Oroville, Paradise, Gridley; six hours per week at Durham and Biggs).

BCL already has cut bookmobile service as well as books by mail. If further cuts are imposed, the community rooms would be closed and all children’s programs except for one story time a week per branch would be eliminated, as well as ILL and interbranch delivery.

Fines have increased for the first time in 29 years, from ten cents per day to 25 cents. Other fee increases address processing fees for replacing lost materials and library cards. A new fee of $19 "covers the staff costs associated with referring delinquent patrons to the county’s collections service." Another new charge of $28 has been instituted for ILL requests over 12 free requests per year.

BCL amasses support
BCL advocates are fighting back. Chico Friends of the Library (the city hosts a BCL branch location and funds extra hours) has produced a television ad inviting library supporters to attend the county budget meetings May 18-19 wearing red, to express their support of BCL services. 

Friends groups from all the branches are offering license plate holders for sale with the message, "Keep it open!" They also provide contact information for every county supervisor and requests library supporters ask for no further cuts and the introduction of a ballot measure that would provide stable support for libraries.

The Chico News Review, along with other local publications, is against the budget cuts. Its editorial stated, "Perhaps we’re old-fashioned, but we believe libraries are fundamental to our democracy, as important as any other service government provides."