The graphic below shows how large the disconnect between citizen values and our elected representatives has grown. It just appeared in the Sonoma Independent latest article, Despite Record Budget Surplus, Supervisors Refuse to Restore Library Hours
along with a new petition urging supervisors to place just $1.2 million less in its fast-expanding reserve funds this coming year, and use it to restore library service to 100,000 users on Mondays. Please consider attending the Supervisors meeting this Tuesday May 19, at 2 pm, for public comments we will be making to support County funding to restore library hours.
The article begins:
It has been a phenomenal year for Sonoma County’s economy. Joblessness is below 5%, home values are soaring, and the treasury enjoys a record surplus of more than $13.5million. The recession and cutbacks of four years ago are fading from memory, with one notable exception: Sonoma County Libraries, one of the most beloved of public resources, have been left behind.
Sonoma County has a reputation as a progressive community that values education and public resources. Yet despite ever increasing usage, our 11 major libraries are now open only 40 hours per week, compared to 52 hours in 2011, and 70 hours in 1981. Sonoma County now spends just $34 per capita on libraries. That’s half of what Napa and Marin County spend, and barely one-quarter of the $124 per capita that San Francisco spends.
Yet not a single one of the five members of our Board of Supervisors, elected to oversee our County’s $1.4 billion budget, has been willing to support the allocation of just $1.2 million that County Library Director Brett Lear believes it would cost to restore Monday hours...
ARTICLE CONTINUES HERE
and includes another graphic from the Sonoma Independent