Comments

1
So, a lot of local government around here seems to be in dire straights, cutting this and that. But my property taxes never fell in the recession, and in fact go up 3% every year.

So why are local governments which derive funding from property taxes suddenly falling apart around our ears? Denis?

(Except Trimet which gets funding from payroll taxes and is directly hit by local employment losses.)
2
In addition to the cuts in hours, there will be cuts in the materials budget (so, fewer books, DVDs, etc). The desks at the Central Library that are currently staffed by professional Librarians with years of experience (Science and Business on the 2nd floor and both Humanities desks on the 3rd floor) will be staffed by paraprofessional Library Assistants with a few hours of training.
3
Dislike my comment all you want, but I'm really asking. Maybe some additional reporting on how we got here would be valuable.
4
Hey Blabby,

The property tax code around here is crazy, thanks to Measures 5/50. County services that are funded by levy experience something called "compression," which this year took away 30% of the levy funding that was supposed to go to library operations. Oh, and that 3% growth on your property taxes is based on the value of your home in 1996. I could go on about properties that are "opt outs," but I'll quit before your eyes glaze over even more than they already have.
5
Actually I know all that stuff. The 1996 peg and opt outs haven't really affected prop tax revenue during the recession. Those are the same as they have been.

But I wasn't aware that compression could reduce levy funding by 30% in one year. Thought compression was more gradual than that. I will try to find info on that happening.

6
And to think the last measure we passed was supposedly to keep funding where it was - as opposed to the new one coming up.
Maybe my understanding is wrong here, but I'm pretty sure it was framed that way.
Now, this stopping of service on mondays wouldn't be a sort of 'threat' to us library patrons, would it?
Why don't they cut those 'security' positions out before cutting service anyway?
7
http://www.multcolib.org/about/funding/

Here is a link from the library's web page that explains the funding issue in more detail. FYI for those interested as most people do not understand the complexities of the issues and the difficulty in deciding what services to cut.
8
@dmitrir "staffed by paraprofessional Library Assistants with a few hours of training." is an untrue statement. Many library assistants hold MLS/MLIS degrees and everyone who works reference goes through rigorous hiring process and many hours of training, with repeat trainings required.
9
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