Sonoma County Library Commission votes to place tax on ballot

The Sonoma County Library Commission unanimously voted Monday to place a 1/8 percent sales tax on the November ballot to benefit the library.

The tax was approved by all 10 commissioners present, with one member absent.

If voters OK it in the fall, the extra funding could add about $10 million annually to the library’s $17 million budget, said Sonoma County Library Director Brett Lear.

In a poll conducted this summer, 76 percent of 600 likely voters reached by phone said they would support the tax bump.

In 2014, a similar measure won 62 percent of the vote, but failed to pass - it was just shy of meeting the two-thirds threshold required of special taxes in California.

You can reach Staff Writer Christi Warren at 521-5205 or christi.warren@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @SeaWarren.