Budget decisions at the polls
Budget decisions at the polls
Keywords: Bonds,Community planning, Fundraising, USA
A majority of the library bond measures on the November 3 ballots in communities across the nation passed,some of them by substantial majorities. Voters in Seattle overwhelmingly (72 percent) approved a $196.4 million bond measure to replace its aging central library and to add three new branches. According to City Librarian Deborah Jacobs, the proposition passed because residents had a major role in putting it together. "We talked to people and we listened to them and then we changed the plan according to what they said," Jacobs explained. "It wasn't just cute that we called it 'Neighbors for Libraries.' It was people out there working for it."
In addition to replacing Seattle's downtown library with a larger one, the bond will nearly double the total square footage of the branches by adding three new ones, relocating two others, and replacing seven.
California taxpayers voted for library renovations in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, Baltimore residents approved funds for a new regional library, and Salt Lake City citizens passed an$84 million measure for a new central library.
