Voters should be to be prepared for a two-question mail-in ballot in April that will determine the future of county library operations. Ballots will be mailed April 4 and are due back by May 3.
Voters will be asked if they would support continuing an annual parcel tax that will allow the library to keep operating at its current level. The parcel tax will end in June, after which library service is expected to decline further.
The library reduced its hours from 54 to 30 in October, reflecting the expected loss of income, about 21 percent, after a measure in balloting last March did not receive the needed two-thirds approval. The library is now closed on Mondays.
Library staff and the number of new books, DVDs and videotapes purchased have already been reduced and would face further cuts if the once-a-year $33.66 was denied.
Voters could also decide pay a bit more, which would allow the library to reopen on Mondays; a two-thirds majority is required to pass.
The ballot measure is unrelated to the effort to build a new library in Morgan Hill. The council has pledged RDA funding for the new facility adjacent to the current library.
The Joint Powers Authority, which governs the library - Councilman Steve Tate is Morgan Hill's representative - will meet Thursday to decide how much to ask on top of the existing $33.66; it is expected to be no more than an additional $12.
Morgan Hill's library is part of the Santa Clara County Library System, that also includes Gilroy, Saratoga, Cupertino, Campbell, Monte Sereno, Alum Rock, Los Altos and Milpitas. Unincorporated areas served by county libraries also pay the parcel tax and will have a vote.
It does not include Los Gatos, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Palo Alto or any library in San Jose, except Alum Rock.
A local parcel tax committee, called the "Save Our Library" committee, will stage a "Volunteer Kick Off" event on Tuesday, Feb. 15, at the Old Morgan Hill House at Villa Mira Monte, 17860 Monterey Road, just south of Wright Avenue. Everyone, not just property owners, is invited to pick up information. They may also want to offer to help in the campaign.
Between Feb. 28 and May 2 many volunteers will be needed to staff phone banks explaining the ballot. The major volunteer effort will be phone banking, not precinct walking. Guglielmo Winery on East Main Avenue will be the site of a campaign fundraiser on March 6. Volunteers are needed to help with this event and with other fundraising activities.
Community members with questions about the parcel tax or who wish to help are encouraged to contact local campaign co-chairs Carol O'Hare, 782-9029, or Bert Berson, bberson@berson.com/
JPA meeting: Jan. 27, 1:30pm, Library Administration Bldg., 14600 Winchester Blvd., Los Gatos. Open to the public.
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