Broken Process Yields a Bad Budget for California
California Progress Report: Aug 30, 2007 By John Laird
Chair of Assembly Budget Committee and Conference Committee on the Budget
The final state budget has been signed by the governor, and it’s bad news for anyone who looks to the state for health care, lower fees for higher education, human services, public transit, library programs, or protecting parks and the environment. READ ON
California Progress Report: Aug 30, 2007 By John Laird
Chair of Assembly Budget Committee and Conference Committee on the Budget
The final state budget has been signed by the governor, and it’s bad news for anyone who looks to the state for health care, lower fees for higher education, human services, public transit, library programs, or protecting parks and the environment. READ ON
Local libraries suffer in state budget crunch
Marin Independent Journal: Aug 27, 2007 by Jennifer Upshaw
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $131.4 billion state budget has left local librarians cold. Friday's passage of the budget - 52 days late - means the loss of about $15 million in state funds to libraries big and small.
In Marin, about $114,000 in state money will be missing from the county library system's $13 million budget, said Carol Starr, director of county library services. The money will be made up from the department's
$2 million reserve fund. Likely, the move means fewer new books, she said.
"It's an impact," Starr said. "It sort of strikes me as asking the library to do more than their fair share."
During budget negotiations, the Legislature added $1 million to the Public Library Foundation, the entity created to dole out state dollars locally for necessities such as books and materials. The money was removed by the governor, as was an additional $7 million. The budget is now $14.4 million from the foundation for libraries statewide, said Susan Negreen, director of the California Library Association.
From the Transaction Based Reimbursement program, which helps libraries statewide finance services such as inter-library loan, another $7 million was sliced, leaving that budget at $11.6 million for all 181 public libraries across the state.
"We are deeply disappointed," Negreen said. "I think there's no doubt this will mean service cuts in the state."
The series of vetoes was vital to beefing up the state's reserves, Schwarzenegger spokesman H.D. Palmer said.
"There were any number of difficult but very necessary decisions that need to be made to build up the reserves in light of the uncertainties in the state revenue picture," he said. "These vetoes are part of what went into building that reserve."
Many libraries outside the county system - San Rafael, Belvedere, Tiburon, Sausalito, Mill Valley, Larkspur and San Anselmo - also will feel the pinch.
In San Rafael, officials had been skittish in years past, opting not to rely on state money. A few years' stability prompted San Rafael to make an exception and count this year on the money - money that will now have to come out of the department's $100,000 in reserves.
About $10,000 will be necessary to cover materials. Between $15,000 and $20,000 will be lost for inter-library loan, estimated David Dodd, San Rafael Public Library director.
"We had really counted on the trend going upward," he said of state funds. "It's just a step in the wrong direction. Last year, we were saying it was a step in the right direction.
"We are not happy today."
Marin Independent Journal: Aug 27, 2007 by Jennifer Upshaw
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $131.4 billion state budget has left local librarians cold. Friday's passage of the budget - 52 days late - means the loss of about $15 million in state funds to libraries big and small.
In Marin, about $114,000 in state money will be missing from the county library system's $13 million budget, said Carol Starr, director of county library services. The money will be made up from the department's
$2 million reserve fund. Likely, the move means fewer new books, she said.
"It's an impact," Starr said. "It sort of strikes me as asking the library to do more than their fair share."
During budget negotiations, the Legislature added $1 million to the Public Library Foundation, the entity created to dole out state dollars locally for necessities such as books and materials. The money was removed by the governor, as was an additional $7 million. The budget is now $14.4 million from the foundation for libraries statewide, said Susan Negreen, director of the California Library Association.
From the Transaction Based Reimbursement program, which helps libraries statewide finance services such as inter-library loan, another $7 million was sliced, leaving that budget at $11.6 million for all 181 public libraries across the state.
"We are deeply disappointed," Negreen said. "I think there's no doubt this will mean service cuts in the state."
The series of vetoes was vital to beefing up the state's reserves, Schwarzenegger spokesman H.D. Palmer said.
"There were any number of difficult but very necessary decisions that need to be made to build up the reserves in light of the uncertainties in the state revenue picture," he said. "These vetoes are part of what went into building that reserve."
Many libraries outside the county system - San Rafael, Belvedere, Tiburon, Sausalito, Mill Valley, Larkspur and San Anselmo - also will feel the pinch.
In San Rafael, officials had been skittish in years past, opting not to rely on state money. A few years' stability prompted San Rafael to make an exception and count this year on the money - money that will now have to come out of the department's $100,000 in reserves.
About $10,000 will be necessary to cover materials. Between $15,000 and $20,000 will be lost for inter-library loan, estimated David Dodd, San Rafael Public Library director.
"We had really counted on the trend going upward," he said of state funds. "It's just a step in the wrong direction. Last year, we were saying it was a step in the right direction.
"We are not happy today."
State budget cuts filter down to Alameda, Contra Costa libraries
San Jose Mercury News: Aug 29, 2007 By Karen Holzmeister and Ryan Huff
Gov. Schwarzenegger's new budget hit the Alameda County Library like a shelf of falling books.
County Librarian Jean Hofacket was hoping for $1.3 million from the state-subsidized Public Library Foundation. That's a hefty raise from the $301,000 that Alameda County received from the foundation in the 2006-07 state budget.
Instead, the budget signed Aug. 24 by Schwarzenegger will result in just $200,000 in foundation funds for the county's 10 libraries and other outreach services.
This $101,000 loss, Hofacket said, could mean across-the-board cuts in materials and programs. Some possible examples: Fewer books purchased. Less adult literacy training. Reductions in children's programs.
County Librarian Jean Hofacket was hoping for $1.3 million from the state-subsidized Public Library Foundation. That's a hefty raise from the $301,000 that Alameda County received from the foundation in the 2006-07 state budget.
Instead, the budget signed Aug. 24 by Schwarzenegger will result in just $200,000 in foundation funds for the county's 10 libraries and other outreach services.
This $101,000 loss, Hofacket said, could mean across-the-board cuts in materials and programs. Some possible examples: Fewer books purchased. Less adult literacy training. Reductions in children's programs.
Hofacket doesn't have specifics on how the $200,000 state foundation money will be spent during 2007-08, but it will be used for programs, staffing and materials.
As an example, $200,000 could buy 5,700 books or 5,400 hours of adult literacy training, or 400 children's programs. READ ON
Union Tribune: Aug 25, 2007 By Ed Mendel
Among the San Diego vetoes: A $7 million statewide library cut is expected to cost the San Diego city library about $250,000 and the county library $200,000.
Schwarzenegger cut $15 million from programs that allow library systems to loan books to each other, and run bookmobiles and other literacy programs.
Action frees money for local groups even as state officials begin preparing for next year's budget debate.
OC Register: Aug 24, 2007 by Brian Joseph
SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday signed the third-latest budget in recent California history, 55 days after the state's June 30 deadline.
Among the real reductions, the governor cut $8 million from public library funds, which are used to buy books, pay salaries and cover overhead. Compared to last year's figures, that cut translates into $286,000 less for the Orange County Public Library, $16,000 less for the Newport Beach library and $38,000 less for the Huntington Beach library, according to the California Library Association.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment