In Sonoma County, CA, a Ten-Day Closure of the Library
Responds to 10% budget cut due to decreased property taxes
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 11/12/2009
- Similar closure in 1992
- Union agreed to furlough, cuts
- $500,000 left to cut
Repeating a ten-day closure that occurred in 1992, the 13 libraries in the Sonoma County Library, CA, system will close from 2 pm on Christmas Eve through Sunday, January 3, 2010, with the staff f
urloughed. Decreased tax revenues have forced the library, which gets 90 percent of its income from property taxes, to cut its budget by $1.7 million—about ten percent—this fiscal year.
“We know that people love their libraries and are dependent on the services we offer and that closing the libraries over the holidays will be a hardship,” said director Sandy Cooper in a news release. “But we decided it would be better to close for 10 days rather than lay off staff or eliminate programs.”
The library union agreed to an unpaid furlough, as well as a rollback of two percent in the cost-of-living adjustment and a one percent increase in employee contribution to retirement. That will save the library about $360,000 and represents a 4.75 percent cut in compensation, according to the Press-Democrat.
The library, however, still faces a $500,000 budget deficit this fiscal year, even after the employee savings, the offer of early retirement to nine employees, and $600,000 in other operating savings. Future cuts will depend on upcoming property tax revenues, the newspaper reported.
