Some Good News: Effort to Restore Library Hours Gains Steam

[Peacetown Jonathan]

The struggle to restore library hours back to where they were three years ago, before a hugely unpopular, and unprecedented 25% cutback in hours began depriving tens of thousands of us libraries services on Mondays and evenings, gained steam this past week.

After much urging by library supporters countywide, and our 1,850 petition-singer strong Campaign to Restore Library Hours, the Library Commission and the County Library management met three nights ago to present and review, for the first time since the cutback, a financial analysis of exactly how much it would cost to restore service. The new interim Library Co-Directors, and their acting CFO, are committed to being part of the solution. As is, in their final months, the soon-to-retire Library Commission. And all parties concerned are eager to back a countywide ballot initiative that would bring Sonoma County closer to parity with surrounding Counties in terms of how much we spend, per capita, on our cash-starved system.

Former Library Director Sandra Cooper (who retired six days after my article in the Bohemian laid bare the mess that brought the worst cutbacks in a century of Sonoma County libraries) had last year estimated that it would cost more than $1.9 million just to restore hours to just five of 11 County libraries on Mondays. The far more thorough report earlier this week noted this cost to be just $800,000--for ALL NINE CITIES--plus some evening hours, plus an additional $300,000 to bring staffing levels to a baseline on other days.

Meanwhile, County Supervisor Mike McGuire was convening a meeting to review responses from all nine cities to a revised draft of the Joint Powers Agreement that governs all the libraries. Wacco readers may have seen my frequent posts these past few weeks urging citizens to support a provision that Sebastopol's former Mayor Guy Wilson had requested two and a half years ago: that our city, through private or tax revenues, be allowed to restore funding locally on an interim basis to restore hours. This was the most controversial provision in the JPA draft, as half the cities in the County, including a few original signatories of the last JPA agreement 35 years ago, who had veto power over the whole agreement, wanted this clause removed.

A tight 6 to 5 vote by members of the JPA Review Committee to retain the clause won the day. Sebastopol's hard-working library advocate and Council Member Sarah Gurney, who has been working on the JPA Review Committee since it began, voted to retain the clause, not as a preferred option, but in the event that a ballot measure failed, and private funding could be found. Sebastopol's Council had officially taken no action on this clause when they reviewed it October 15, though some Council members objected to it. Sarah has spoken to many people in our community about this, and, in my view, acted conscientiously and responsively.

Sarah demonstrated leadership and modeled civility and cooperation during the important county meeting reviewing the draft JPA. So did County Supervisor Mike McGuire. In the process, the "veto powered" city representatives of Santa Rosa, Petaluma, and Healdsburg were all brought into the majority fold--thanks largely to the words and civility modeled by Mike McGuire and Sarah Gurney. And the large city reps were, in the end, unwilling to destroy the new agreement over this one issue. It was, to me, a very impressive meeting of local government representatives working together to reconcile differences and come up with a fair understanding that represented the needs, and will, of the governed.

The work soon begins on a countywide funding initiative to bring the libraries onto a sound fiscal footing, restore hours, and possibly a lot more, giving us a system that we, the people, can be proud of. It will require a great effort, monetary donations, and a lot of grassroots support, along with many signatures and hundreds of volunteers.

The local funding augmentation clause will, thankfully, remain in the new JPA, as a sort of insurance policy should a ballot initiative daily, to make sure that cutback 40 hours does not become the "new normal" level of service that we and our neighbors and families will have to suffer with for decades.

Every one of Sebastopol's City Council Members has expressed strong support for a countywide finding initiative. They join every library advocate in this, all of us now on the same page.

There is a chance that this time next year, all of our County libraries will be open on Monday and evenings once again. It's going to take a lot to get there. But tI have heard tremendous community support to adequately fund Sonoma County libraries. I feel the wind at our back, and am heartened to report that we are moving forward together.

[Sara S]

There is not such a cradle of democracy upon the earth as the Free Public Library, this republic of letters, where neither rank, office, nor wealth receives the slightest consideration. -Andrew Carnegie, industrialist (1835-1919)

The struggle to restore library hours back to where they were three years ago, before a hugely unpopular, and unprecedented 25% cutback in hours began depriving tens of thousands of us libraries services on Mondays and evenings, gained steam this past week.

[peggykarp]

Major gratitude to Jonathan for his fantastic leadership on this issue, and to councilwoman Sarah Gurney for all her work on behalf of our library and her courageous vote to keep the local funding option in the Joint Powers Agreement. In the months to come everyone who wants to see the library hours restored needs to get involved to ensure passage of a county-wide funding initiative. Stay tuned!

The struggle to restore library hours back to where they were three years ago, before a hugely unpopular, and unprecedented 25% cutback in hours began depriving tens of thousands of us libraries services on Mondays and evenings, gained steam this past week.

After much urging ...