County library proponents advocate for sales tax ballot measure.

The last time Sonoma County residents were asked to support local libraries with a new sales tax, a slim minority of “no” voters firmly closed the book on the notion. That 2014 measure – calling for a sales-tax hike of an eighth-of-a-cent per dollar – was narrowly defeated at the polls when it failed to muster a two-thirds majority.

This November, voters will once again be asked to support an eighth-of-a-cent library tax. Library supporters are optimistic this time that voters – who library officials say are eager to see expanded hours and upgraded technology at the county’s 17 library branches – will refrain from once again shelving the book-friendly measure.

“Measure Y is vital for our libraries,” says Sonoma County Library Director Brett Lear. “We have the same needs today that we had two years ago. We have the same reduced hours we’ve had since 2011. Libraries are still closed on Mondays. We have aging facilities. We simply need more money.”

Currently, the county’s libraries operate on a $17 million annual budget. If passed, Measure Y could raise an estimated $10 million to $12 million a year, with the Library Commission promising that the revenue would help maintain, restore, enhance and improve library services at all 17 branches. The measure includes a sunset clause, cutting the funding after 10 years. Because its a tax with specified spending, the measure required two-thirds voter approval to pass. The 2014 measure earned 62 percent of the vote, missing its two-thirds threshold by about 400 votes.

One of the 2014 measure’s primary opponents was Dan Drummond of the Sonoma County Taxpayers Association. Drummond, and the organization he serves as executive director, are voicing similar opposition to Measure Y.

“Revenue losses during the recession were the reason hours were reduced,” says Drummond, “but revenue restoration, as the economy recovered, has been used for pay raises, consultants and other purposes – while hours remain cut.”

Concludes Drummond: “The commission’s priority is clearly not restoring hours or they would have done that when the revenue rebounded.”

Lear says he “respects that point of view,” but says it represents a misunderstanding of the finances.

“Yes, property taxes have recovered to recession levels, but the costs of books and services have gone way up, technology costs have gone up,” says Lear. “Property tax revenues have increased, but libraries, by law, only get an increase of 2 percent a year. I don’t think most people realize that.”

Lear says that “regardless of whether we’re in a recession or we’re in good times,” county libraries are locked in at a very low rate of budget increases.

“That’s just not enough to meet the rising costs of operating a library for the number of people we serve every day,” Lear says.

Drummond, who concedes that the library system’s costs have gone up, suggests that the majority of those rising costs are what are known as “other post-employment benefits,” or OPEB, health care costs for retired library employees being chief among them. Drummond cites numbers indicating that the library system’s OPEB has risen dramatically over the years. That’s a factor, he says, that the library officials should be controlling at the bargaining table with employee unions.

“Clearly,” Drummond says, “they have not done so.”

Drummond stops short of predicting how the vote for Measure Y will turn out.

“My crystal ball is pretty fuzzy,” he says. “The tax measure in 2014 caught a lot of people by surprise. Since then, they’ve hired consultants to market this tax measure to the public, hoping to turn the tide. Using tax dollars to hire consultants for the purpose of raising more tax dollars while failing to address their escalating OPEB just confirms that their priorities are out of sync.”

What remains uncontested is that the county’s libraries are vitally important to many in the community. Last year, Sonoma County residents visited a library more than 2 million times, and checked out more than 3 million books, videos, CDs and other materials. Libraries remain one of the most-used free institutions in Sonoma County.

“If we were a business,” Lear says, “business would be booming. Libraries are not some old-fashioned, archaic or passé thing of the past. We’re a vibrant, bustling community institution and, right now, we simply need increased funds to bring our libraries up to the operating levels they once were, in terms of the hours and services.”

If the measure is approved, Lear says it will take a while for the new revenue to work its way through the system.

“That said,” Lear adds, “we are committed to getting things moving as quickly as possible, so the community will see their votes in action. One of the first things people will see is added hours. We will get the libraries open again on Mondays, probably four to six months after the vote passes. The funding will be equally distributed amongst our 14 libraries, all of which will see more books on the shelves, more staff, more hours, additional children events. All that good stuff will be coming.”

When the library tax didn’t pass in 2014, some “no” voters indicated they weren’t convinced the revenue would go toward libraries - they feared county officials would divert it for other purposes. Lear says that simply “can’t happen” in this case.

“We’re not a county department,” Lear says. “We’re a Joint Powers Authority. People do not need to worry this money will somehow be redirected to the county. It’s not possible. This money will go to the libraries - and nowhere else.”