Votes Yes on M

For too many years, Healdsburg’s public library and all of the Sonoma County Library branches have suffered with reduced hours, less staff and a loss of programs due to budget cuts made during the Recession that have not been restored.
Healdsburg residents and all county voters can help fix this problem by supporting Measure M in the Nov. 4 election.
Currently, all libraries are closed on Mondays and most shut their doors at 6 p.m. during the week. We need more library hours and we should support paying for them.
Measure M proposes a very modest increase to the county sales tax that could generate $10 million a year for our libraries. The one-eighth of a cent sales tax would cost just over a dime on any $100 taxable purchase, equalling about $45 a year per household. County library officials have pledged to use Measure M funds to restore pre-2011 library hours and enhance services at all 11 branches and its bookmobile.
We urge readers of The Healdsburg Tribune to both support Measure M and encourage others to do so as well. (A two-thirds majority is required for its passage.)
The Sonoma County Library System is a unique joint powers agency that includes the County of Sonoma and all of the county’s incorporated cities. Prior to the Recession, the county library system had a budget of $17 million to serve a county population of nearly 500,000 people. Over the past half-decade that budget has been cut by almost 20 percent.
Sonoma County’s unique public library cooperative was first formed over 35 years ago and has grown to include a world-class Wine Library, Genealogy and Local History collection, two rural stations, many special programs and 3.5 million books, DVDs, audio books and eBooks.
Historically, county residents have not supported their libraries as well as other county’s public libraries have been supported. In fact, we have been very “spend-thrift” when it has come to funding these special places that serve as community and cultural centers and which provide lifelong learning opportunities for young children, student scholars, hobbyists, teachers and even homebound seniors.
For quite some time, libraries have been more than just books on a shelf. Our countywide system seeks to continue to enhance its technology and public information services. With new funding from Measure M, a replenished staff can expand children programs and better assure that all residents have equal access to information, knowledge, entertainment and cultural enrichment.
The Sonoma County Library System is led by an 11-member commission, appointed by individual city councils and the county board of supervisors. The library’s budget and operations are reviewed in public by the county supervisors. The Commission and several regional advisory committees hold regular public meetings.
Library leaders have written a specific Expenditure Plan on how Measure M funds would be allocated. Funds will be used to supplement existing revenue “exclusively for library purposes, including preserving existing libraries; reversing the deterioration in services at existing libraries, upgrading of facilities, services and collections; and extending branch library services to the unserved and under-served.”
No argument against Measure M was submitted to be printed in the Nov. 4 General Election Voter’s Pamphlet, unlike all other tax proposals which are being opposed by the Sonoma County Taxpayers Association, among others.
Supporters of Measure M point to the “strong financial accountability” of the tax measure that mandates citizens’oversight, an annual independent audit and an annual printed report to the county board of supervisors.
It’s true that not all of us may visit our local library on a regular basis. But, just as some of us no longer have children in school, we appreciate the larger impacts schools, libraries, museums and other places for learning and culture add to our community of Windsor.
We encourage everyone to vote for Measure M and support our local library.
— Rollie Atkinson