Sonoma County Library patrons, advocates pinning hopes on Measure M

Helen Topper adores the Central Library in Santa Rosa. Her only complaint? That it’s not open on Mondays or on evenings past 6 p.m.

“I think it’s crazy that it’s not,” Topper said last week as she left the E Street library clutching a book to her chest.

The Santa Rosa woman said she’ll be supporting Measure M on the November ballot because she hopes it will increase the library’s hours of operations. Library officials promise that would be one outcome of the measure’s successful passage.

“It’ll open libraries back on Mondays, which is probably what I hear most from patrons,” said Brett Lear, director of the Sonoma County Library. “It’ll add some evening hours and some weekend hours. I think folks want more access to their libraries.”

Measure M would increase the county’s sales tax by one-eighth of a cent, or by 50 cents on a purchase of $400, and generate an estimated $100 million for the library system over the next decade.

The proposed ordinance, which requires a two-thirds majority to pass, mandates the money be used solely to fund library operations. Specifically, the expenditure plan calls for restoring hours at the 13 branches that make up the system, upgrading facilities and extending services to “the unserved and underserved areas of the county.” Library officials said that might include opening a new branch in Roseland.

Advocates say the tax increase is needed to shore up a library system that has been beset in recent years with financial and management problems, leading to a revision of the system’s joint-powers agreement. They also contend the library is woefully underfunded compared with libraries in nearby communities.

Sonoma County’s per capita spending on libraries is $33 for each resident. That compares with $53 in Napa County, $95 in Marin County and $113 in San Francisco.

“When we’re understaffed and overstressed, we’re not serving the public the way we want to,” said Tom Popenuck, lead building mechanic at the Sonoma County Library and chapter president of SEIU Local 1021. “It’s really not about jobs or about the money. People who work for the library are extremely dedicated to the library.”

But library patron Jackie Mujica last week said she’s undecided about whether to support Measure M, saying “We already pay an awful lot in sales tax.”

“Having the library closed on Monday is not a big impediment to me using the library,” said Mujica, who visited the Central Library on Friday to check out a travel book on cruise ship ports of call.

Even if voters approve Measure M, a cap on sales tax in Sonoma County would prevent the measure’s immediate implementation. Backers of the measure were hoping state legislators would approve giving the county the authority to raise the cap prior to the November election. Under state law, municipalities can assess a local sales tax of up to 2 percent in excess of the statewide sales tax of 7.5 percent.

Assemblyman Wes Chesbro, D-Arcata, and state Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, tried unsuccessfully to get the cap raised. The efforts failed because legislative leaders were against the lawmakers using the “gut and amend” process to try to get the proposed legislation heard on a shortened time frame, according to Lisa Ramer, Chesbro’s chief of staff. “The problem was the county got in touch with us too late,” Ramer said.

Lear said he “still has great confidence” that the cap eventually will be lifted.

“It will just be later than we hoped,” he said.

Sonoma County Supervisor Mike McGuire, who led efforts to revise the library’s joint-powers agreement, said raising the cap remains a priority.

“Bottom line, this is going to be a legislative priority for the county of Sonoma in 2015,” said McGuire, who is seeking the 2nd District Senate seat in November.

Lear said he and the library commission will explore using money from reserves to implement some of the programs envisioned under Measure M, including adding to book collections.

The county’s library system receives almost all of its funding through a share of property taxes. The formula, which was set in 1978 with the implementation of Proposition 13, generated about $14.6 million last year, or about 97 percent of the library’s operating budget.

The library has a staff of approximately 138 full-time employees. Library commissioners authorized a one-time transfer of $535,000 from reserves to help cover a deficit in this year’s budget. But officials project the system could run through the remaining $8 million to $10 million it has in reserves within five years without additional revenue.

The Sonoma Valley Library is expected to benefit from a $700,000 gift from the estate of the late Jane Kunde, according to Joanne Sanders, the library’s appointed commissioner. Sanders said she was contacted by the Kunde family in September.

Jane Kunde, who died in February, was a devoted library volunteer and served as a library commissioner from 1998 to 2008. An attorney for her family did not return messages Friday seeking comment.

“Frankly, I’m overwhelmed at her generosity and looking forward to collaborating with the library advisory members on the best use of the money to improve and sustain Sonoma Valley Library in years to come,” Sanders, a former city of Sonoma mayor, said Friday.

Lear said he was “thrilled” by the gift.

“But I still have to spend time with the family to understand the details,” he said.

Individual library branches cannot increase hours of operation under the terms of the revised joint-powers agreement. All 11 of the largest library branches operate during the same hours, with the exception of the central branch in Santa Rosa, which unlike the others is open Sundays from 2 to 6 p.m. All branches are closed Mondays.

Lear said a large donation should not discourage anyone from supporting Measure M, which he said is a “completely different solution to our budget woes than a single gift to one library.”

You can reach Staff Writer Derek Moore at 521-5336 or derek.moore@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @deadlinederek.