By Matt Wilson and Khalida Sarwari
A parcel tax in support of books will remain on the books for another 20 years. Santa Clara County voters overwhelmingly said “yes” to renewing a 20-year-old parcel tax that library officials say is critical for maintaining quality service.
Residents cast their votes by mail by Aug. 27 for Measure A, extending a $33.66 per year parcel tax for single-family homes in Santa Clara County, which officials say accounts for 18 percent of the district’s budget.
Unofficial final results as of press time Aug. 28–with all 267 precincts reporting–show the measure passing with roughly 81.4 percent of the vote.
“It’s a really great time for the library,” said Cheryl Houts, the Campbell branch’s community librarian. “We’re just so thankful for all the volunteers that put together the wonderful effort to pass this measure.”
Parcel tax measures require a two-thirds vote to pass. Just over 55,000 ballots were cast in this special election, according to the unofficial results from the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters.
The tax goes toward maintaining services and programs at nine local branches of the Santa Clara County Library District. Local library officials told this newspaper that the funds will help libraries buy books and up-to-date research materials, maintain library hours and services, keep librarians, continue summer student reading programs and provide a bookmobile program to bring books to seniors, the disabled and others.
Saratoga community librarian Gayathri Kanth said the parcel tax provides the revenue to pay for one in four materials the library purchases, whether it’s a book or another item.
“The best thing about [Measure A passing] is now no cuts on the services and programs,” she said. “We can continue providing the same level of programming, research and materials, so that’s really truly the best benefit of this.”
Funding from the measure also augments research materials, the summer reading programs, homework help and SAT test preparation, science programs for elementary school kids, toddler and preschool story times and teen book clubs and activities for youth.
Officials worried that if Measure A were to fail, cuts would have come at each library in the form of programs and services, special events and possibly laying off staff. Libraries also might have been faced with closing branches an additional day and a half each week and purchasing fewer books.
Kanth said the passage of the measure would help the library maintain many of those services.
“We’re looking forward to providing the very best of the services that we’re always known to do,” she said.
Ballots were mailed to voters in late July and Measure A was the only issue up for a vote on the ballot.
The city councils representing all the nine municipalities in the library district as well as the Cities Association of Santa Clara County voted to support Measure A, according to deputy county librarian Derek Wolfgram.
The district serves residents in the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County and the communities of Cupertino, Campbell, Saratoga, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, and Morgan Hill.
In the run up to the Aug. 27 mail-in ballot deadline, the county released an independent study on the value of the library districts. Commissioned by the district and funded by the Cupertino Library Foundation, the study revealed a return on investment for local residents as high as 400 percent.
For more information about the Santa Clara County Library District and a report on the BERK study, visit sccl.org
Staff reporter Mara Van Ells contributed to this story.
