Gilroy
– The next story time at the Gilroy Library may go something
like this: There was an old man who lived on Leavesley. He
voted
”
yes
”
for Measure A but not Measure B. In fact, 72 percent of voters
said yes, and the librarians called it a resounding success.
Gilroy – The next story time at the Gilroy Library may go something like this: There was an old man who lived on Leavesley. He voted “yes” for Measure A but not Measure B. In fact, 72 percent of voters said yes, and the librarians called it a resounding success.
By a wide margin, Santa Clara County voters agreed to extend for 10 years a $33.66 parcel tax to fund the county library system. A second measure that would have levied an additional $12 each year received broad support, but with 64 percent of the vote, fell just shy of the two-thirds majority required to pass a tax measure.
“I’m very happy. That we can pass something like this at this time is great,” said Gilroy librarian Lani Yoshimura, in reference the county’s economic doldrums. “We’re very glad that we’re able to continue the services we have currently. We don’t have to cut our hours and we don’t have to layoff staff. That’s a very positive move.”
The victory for Measure A means the nine-member library system is assured of a $5.4 million revenue stream for the next decade. That’s about 20 percent of its total operating budget. County librarian Melinda Cervantes said Tuesday night that the result will more or less maintain the system’s status quo. Next month she will present to the system’s Joint Powers Authority a budget forecast “much improved” from an existing forecast anticipating Measure A’s defeat.
“We’re very happy,” Cervantes said from a celebratory gathering in Cupertino. “Both A and B got considerably more votes than they did last year. We’re happy A has passed and perhaps it’s just a sign of the times and the tough economy that B did not.”
Former Gilroy High School librarian Carol Smith, a leader of the local volunteer effort supporting the measures, said she was happy the process is over.
“After all the time and effort, I’m glad at least A is successful,” Smith said. “It’s been a long haul. I’m grateful to all the folks who worked so hard here in Gilroy to help bring this about. I’m interested in seeing how votes went in different communities.”
The county registrar’s office said Tuesday night that it will be about two weeks before precinct information is available. The all-mail election was the first county-wide mail ballot in the county. Unofficially, 72,477 of the 217,778 ballots mailed out by the registrar were returned.
Ballot supporters took advantage of the four-week voting window to canvass registered voters and encourage them to support the measures. The local campaign against the measures was led by Gilroy anti-tax zealot Mark Zappa. He said Tuesday night that he was disappointed in the results.
“But I’m thrilled we did defeat B,” Zappa said. “It’s hard when you’re dealing with an issue like libraries in a place like Santa Clara County where people are liberal in their views on taxation. It was an uphill battle.”
County Registrar Jesse Durazo said he was thrilled with the 36 percent turnout, comparing it to the 45 percent of registered voters who participated in the March 2004 presidential primary election.
“We’re as excited as can be,” Durazo said. “We learned how to handle mail ballot voting much better than we did [in the past]. We’re pleased with our capacity to handle this.”
In the March 2004 election a similar measure to fund the library system failed with 61 percent of the vote. The defeat forced the library’s JPA to gamble on this special all-mail ballot at a cost of about $2 million. Had the JPA waited to place the measures on the consolidated November ballot, it would have lost at least one year of funding.
Last year, a $1.1 million budget shortfall forced all nine libraries to close on Mondays. Cervantes had said the county system was looking at layoffs of at least 10 percent of its employees. The libraries in Gilroy and Morgan Hill might have cut operations to as few as 30 hours a week. As recently as September, the Gilroy Library was open 54 hours a week.
Now, Cervantes said, there will be no layoffs and no further closings, and with secure funding, she may examine ways to reopen on Mondays.
“This is a library system that provides great service no matter the obstacles,” Cervantes said.
The nine libraries are located in Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Los Altos, Saratoga, Cupertino, Monte Sereno, Campbell and Alum Rock.
