GILROY
– Despite having one of the busiest libraries in the county
system, Gilroy voters were the least supportive on Election Day,
March 2.
Post-election voting tallies reveal that Gilroy showed the least
support for a countywide measure that would have continued an
existing parcel tax that pays for daily library operations.
GILROY – Despite having one of the busiest libraries in the county system, Gilroy voters were the least supportive on Election Day, March 2.
Post-election voting tallies reveal that Gilroy showed the least support for a countywide measure that would have continued an existing parcel tax that pays for daily library operations.
Only 56.6 percent of Gilroyans voted yes on the measure. None of the precincts in Gilroy garnered more then 66 percent support, the requirement for passing a tax measure. At least one Gilroy precinct failed to garner even 50 percent of the vote.
The tallies surprised Head Librarian Lani Yoshimura because, she says, in any other election, the measure would have won by a landslide.
“The number seems to correspond to the number that Gavilan (College’s bond measure) got,” Yoshimura said. “I kind of draw from that conclusion that the same people that voted for Measure B voted for the Gavilan measure.”
Gavilan’s $108 million bond needed 55 percent approval to pass and some voters reportedly thought the same support would pass the library tax measure.
“I do think that we probably didn’t get the message out early enough,” Yoshimura said. “It’s an education process that maybe took a little time – people didn’t understand, maybe, that this is not a new issue, that this is something they are paying currently. And that was a factor here.”
The county library system, which already faces a 10 percent budget cut, will see an additional 21 percent cut in funding since Measure B failed to land support from two-thirds of voters.
Specifically, Measure B was to replace a $33.66 library parcel tax with a $42 one.
The increase was to help pay for books, materials and staff hours.
Some voters might have been confused and thought that the $42 tax was for every $100,000 in assessed property value, instead of a flat tax, Yoshimura said.
“And just the overall tenor of the voters at the time, people who probably would have voted for us before, maybe thought it was time to protest new taxes,” she said. “And they probably didn’t think about the repercussions or what it would do.”
In Gilroy, the loss means – at the very least – a reduction in hours from 54 a week to 30. The cuts will happen after funding from the existing parcel tax runs out at the end of the next fiscal year.
Gilroy’s library already is “standing room only” during most evenings, Yoshimura said. Fewer books are checked out than at other county libraries but about 1,000 people each day use the building and computer use is twice as high as it is at Morgan Hill.
Measure B backers in Morgan Hill, though disappointed with the overall results, were happy to see their efforts pay off.
Morgan Hill produced the third highest number of “Yes” votes – 61.75 percent – lagging only behind the much wealthier cities of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills.
Nancy Howe, Morgan Hill’s city librarian said she was surprised but gratified with the results.
“I was very pleased,” Howe said. “In the last election (for a library parcel tax), 10 years ago, Morgan Hill was at the bottom. This shows the regard the community has for its library.”
The precinct spread in Morgan Hill was between a high of 72.89 percent and a low of 55.50 percent.
A second measure cannot be put to voters until after one full year, Yoshimura said, so it could qualify in June, 2005, at the earliest.
Unless a special election is held, it could be back on the November 2005 ballot.
Morgan Hill Times Staff Writer Carol Holzgrafe contributed to this report.
