California Governor Jerry Brown released a proposed budget for FY11/12 on Monday that would eliminate all state funding for public libraries.
Brown's shock-and-awe, $84.6 billion general fund budget, which still must work its way through the state legislature, would cut state spending by $12.5 billion and include a "vast and historic" restructuring of government operations.
Paymaneh Maghsoudi, the president of the California Library Association (CLA) and the director of the Whittier Public Library, immediately condemned the move.
"The revelation ... that Governor Brown is proposing to eliminate all $30 million in state funding for three of California's most valuable public library programs ...is both disastrous and disheartening," she said in a press release.
Maghsoudi said that library funding had already been cut 75 percent under the two previous administrations.
"The public libraries have done more than their share to assist with the budget deficit over the years by absorbing painful cuts," she said. "The time has come to stop the bleeding and CLA respectfully asks the members of the legislature to oppose these proposed cuts to our valuable programs."
In a statement on the governor's website, Brown defended his proposal.
"These cuts will be painful, requiring sacrifice from every sector of the state, but we have no choice," Brown said. "For 10 years, we've had budget gimmicks and tricks that pushed us deep into debt. We must now return California to fiscal responsibility and get our state on the road to economic recovery and job growth."
The spending plan would eliminate an 18-month budget gap estimated at $25.4 billion ($8.2 billion for the current year and a budget-year deficit of $17.2 billion). Brown's budget proposes $12.5 billion in spending reductions, $12 billion in revenue extensions and modifications, and $1.9 billion in other areas to close the gap and provide for a $1 billion reserve.
Fewer hours, staff cuts, program impacts Maghsoudi said the proposed budget would result in reduced library hours, staff cuts, and the dismantling of Transaction Based Reimbursement, a cooperative system of borrowing and loaning books that has existed statewide for over 30 years.
Eliminating funding for the state literacy program "would be truly heartbreaking for individuals and families who desperately need this assistance," she said.
The Public Library Fund, which provides direct state aid to public libraries for basic service, has never received its full appropriation from the legislature, but this cut would represent a new low. In its first year, 1983, the state appropriation was $6 million, and has varied from $56.8 million. (80 percent of full funding) in 1999/00 to $12.9 million (12 percent of full funding) in 2008/09.
American Library Association president Roberta Stevens also was critical of Brown's proposal.
"Every service hour lost in our libraries translates into a million lost opportunities to connect people to distance education, unemployment benefits, and other e-government services," she said in a press release. "I encourage Governor Brown not to bury his head in the sand and work to understand the value of public libraries. It is clear that the governor's proposal to reduce funding for public libraries in the state of California must be re-evaluated."
Other programs are not spared the budget ax, including health-care programs such as Medi-Cal as well as $500 million cuts to both the California State University and the University of California. The only sectors to avoid cuts were K- 12 education and the state's prison system.
The legislature is scheduled to take action on the budget by March.
Reader Comments (16)
So how many state employees were layed off? NONE Only 10%
pay cut for SOME state employees. I was layed off a couple of years ago from a company that went out of business then my husband who works for the Calif school district took a 15% pay cut and yet State Agencies such as the Calif Air Resource Board have a $800 million budget and 1200 employees with many making 6 figures. This is insane!Now our public libraries the one place I can actually afford to take my kids will be cut? Where are our priorities Gov. Brown? Why don't you cut some of these B.S. state agencies?
Posted by Kerry on January 12, 2011 01:27:54PM
I agree with Kerry. I hate the idea of laying off state employees, but cutting the library and university budgets will create long term damage to our economy. Educated people are the future job creators and this plan will result in more ignorance and illiteracy.
Jerry Brown needs to raise taxes on oil companies. California is the only state that doesn't charge oil companies a severance tax.
http://www.anthonyrubenstein.com/2010/06/the-big-oil-lies-big-oilies-tell-californians/
Posted by Karen on January 12, 2011 11:35:16AM
The State is still paying State Personal and Consulting Services Contractors, on average twice as much as it would cost to have lower paid State Civil Servants do the State's work. Examples of paying 6 to 8 times more are all too common in the wasteful contracting out of Sate services. Billions could be saved in this overpaid spending area.
Jerry Brown made a start at cutting this wasteful spending in his proposed budget, a 200 million dollar cut. We need more cuts in this wasteful spending area. Before we cut the libraries, cut the over paid State Consultants, and State Personal Services contractors.
Posted by Lowell Landowski on January 12, 2011 12:20:18PM
For those who think State Workers are only getting 10% cut, try again. We have not a salary increase since July of 2007, and this it was only 3.4%, and it just covered inflation for that year. We then had a 5%, then 10%, and then 15% cuts due to three days of month in furloughs. Add inflation and we had a 25% loss in our incomes. Meanwhile we have clericals getting paid $140,000 a years under State Personal and Consulting Services Contract, and her contracted managers getting paid over $500 an hour, which equate to 1.2 million dollars a year. We now the clerical is not really getting paid $120,000 a year, her boss who is getting paid 1.2 million a year only pays her about $40,000 a year including all benefits, and he skims $90,000 off her pay, for his profit on the State contract. Why is the public not in up in arms over this, because very few people even know this wasteful spending is going on even now, with the huge deficits, almost totally unnoticed and unabated.
Posted by Lowell Landowski on January 12, 2011 12:32:57PM
30 million? I'm sorry but that's deceptive. My city library system has a 6 million dollar budget. If you spread 30 million statewide... it's got to be a small percentage of each library's operating budget. besides...how many STATE libraries are there? Aren't most libraries run by city or county? No big deal. calm down.
Posted by Owly on January 12, 2011 01:42:41PM
This is typical reaction. Rather than proposing a realistic alternative you people are all pointing fingers over who should go before yourselves. This did not happen over night and won't be fixed soon, or even in your lifetime. To the comment "the educated are the future job creators", what does a comment like that even mean? Seriously, you elitist bunch of dopes.
Posted by Susan on January 12, 2011 03:41:22PM
There is very little difference between Brown's budget proposals and previous budgets, because Brown's budget is master-minded by the oil industry. There is no provision for ending corporate tax loopholes, no oil extraction tax and no oil corporation, windfall profits tax. Californians pay the highest price for gasoline in the nation. Brown's budget is the same, because again, it picks on the most vulnerable. Jerry appears to be working for Big Oil and not for the Californians who voted for him.
Posted by Earl Richards on January 12, 2011 04:21:28PM
I think the Governor should have a Waste Reduction Unit for people like you to raise specific ideas and report problems similar to Arnold's Waste Watcher Unit in the Governor's Office.
Posted by JJ on January 13, 2011 02:19:00AM
Get real and stop complaining. Most people who go to the Library use it for entertainment. Most of us in the real world use the internet and Netflix for information music and movies. We pay for it ourselves. Not tax funded entertainment. If your kids need a library there’s one at every school, it’s probably closer than your local library. State workers, your neighbors and friends may be scared to tell you but State workers are the biggest whiners of all. A great number of people all over the country have had their pay checks cut by 100%. And those that get pay raises are usually lower percentage than the state workers. I have worked as a contractor at state agencies before. They are consistently less productive than anyone else I have ever worked with. Contractors are not paid more! We have to pay for our own health insurance, mine currently in $650 per month! No retirement at all! No vacation! No sick time! I voted for Jerry Brown hoping he would get tough. California needs this leadership to survive, keep it up Jerry.
Posted by Jas Swaydo on January 13, 2011 01:15:31PM
I live in Texas and have heard that the state pays tuition costs for all or most of the people who attend a college/university in California. If this is true, it seems that the overall population of California would be better served to continue funding of public libraries that are available to all citizens and cut or eliminate the practice of paying for higher learning for only part of the population.
Posted by Cynann on January 17, 2011 11:37:53AM
As a Library Employee in Colorado we are watching this closely. Our sincere support goes to you!!! This is an example of short-sighted ignorant leadership!!! The anti-government rhetoric and mentality is uneducated when it comes to the services provided by Libraries. Library Staff help people everyday to get back to work by providing Internet access, help with Job Resumes and links to Job Websited. There are few places that BUILD COMMUNITY, BUILD BUSINESS, AND SUPPORT LIFELONG LEARNING as cost-effectively as Libraries. WE ARE NOT SIMPLY WAREHOUSES OF BOOKS, MOVIES AND MUSIC. Stop and think before you cut Libraries!!!
We are only as strong as the weakest among us!!!
Posted by Debra W on January 18, 2011 03:58:12PM
I am speechless. I guess Jerry isn't a real Democrat any more.
Posted by Brenda on January 24, 2011 09:50:36PM
Interesting...when Arnold wanted to cut taxes and cut spending when it might of helped CA did nothing. Jerry Brown comes back and anything goes.
Posted by Bob on January 26, 2011 05:07:53PM
Libraries have forever been the emblem of great civilizations. To shut them down
is to rip the center out of our already fraying society! For many, public libraries
are the sole source of a number of resources.
Posted by Liz Helenchild on January 30, 2011 05:16:35PM
I would like to suggest Bay Concert Arts as this issue's new funding partner.
The proposal we are making in the following link certainly applies to this situation as well:
http://bcaweb.bayarea.net/3-4link.htm
BCA has always been a leader in providing genuine benefit California Public.
As always, we move quickly and hit with real power.
So, lets get the ball rolling right away.
Sincerely,
William Kenville, President
Bay Concert Arts
P.O. Box 1856 Watsonville, CA 95077
BCAweb@BayArea.Net
Posted by William Kenville on March 4, 2011 03:11:26PM
Folks, even if the California Electorate approves the Tax Increases in June, it's only a stopgap.
The math still just doesn't add up anymore for Unionized Government Workers to not care about the Taxpayers' actual bottom line.
For example: the California Taxpayers own literally thousands of extremely expensive concert halls. But, those facilities primarily only serve the whims of extremely well paid California State Employees.
Bay Concert Arts would like to take a little piece of this Taxpayer owned luxury property back for the genuine benefit of those very California Taxpayers.
Even a weekly series of solo piano benefit concerts for the Taxpayers takes only a small time footprint in a well run facility. Even on the day of such an event, the Public's four hour time slice in their expensive facility still leaves a full twenty hours on that very day for our
precious state workers to prance around in the concert hall feeling important about themselves.
That should be enough even for them.
Help the Taxpayers survive the greed and arrogance of their State Workers. Support BCA's Mission to generate true Public Benefit for the People of California.
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/vol/2256690372.html
http://bcaweb.bayarea.net/3-4link.htm
BCAweb@Bayra.Net
Initial Needs:
1. Leadership
Carry the ball through the official local procedures so that BCA can get started in your location.
2. Promotion and PR
Put out a few fliers and press releases, get your events into local calendars, club bulletins and the like.
Schools also have many methods for getting the word out to the community. For them to mention their
fundraising concerts should not cost them anything extra.
3. Concert Day Staff
Open the hall, welcome the patrons and sell the CDs and other concert related merchandise.
Requirements:
Access to phone and Internet.
Willingness to volunteer on a project oriented basis - needs will present themselves, competent people need to step in and fill them.
Posted by Bay Concert Arts on March 9, 2011 08:25:10PM
