Marin County's $49 Annual Library Parcel Tax Needs Two-Thirds Majority to Pass

Has lost 1/3 of its budget since 2006.

Link to June 6 San Jose Mercury News article.

Excerpt: Funding problems brought on by flagging revenue in the poor economy have cut across three library systems in Marin, affecting patrons in San Rafael, San Anselmo and the 10-branch county library system so severely that backers are asking voters to consider a $49 annual parcel tax Tuesday aimed at shoring up library services.

"Most of us want to live in a city with tree-lined streets, parks, a library, good public schools," said Carol Manashil, co-chairwoman of Open Doors, Open Minds: San Rafael Library Services Committee in Support of Measure C. "In this case we have to pay for it. It isn't a lot, but we have to pay for it."

All the taxes - which hold a five-year term in San Anselmo and at the county, and seven years in San Rafael - require a two-thirds majority to pass. No organized opposition has emerged against the three tax measures.

In San Rafael, the library has been forced to cut consistently for years. It has lost its children's librarian and other personnel, used its reserves to maintain the existing schedule and faces further reductions if money does not immediately become available.

San Anselmo, called the poorest public library in Marin, lost one-third of its budget in 2006. Gone is the children's librarian, and many children's services and programs have been eliminated. The budget for new books, movies and computers is greatly reduced, supporters said.

Point of concern?  Will bored California Democrats stay home on Election Day?