Menlo Park: A special tax for library? Menlo Park: A special tax for library? (June 23, 2004)

** Council members want to look into new funding sources.

By Rebecca Wallace
Almanac Staff Writer

After suffering budget-related cuts in the recession, the Menlo Park Library may get a new source of funding: a special tax.

Members of the Menlo Park City Council have asked city staff to study new options for the library, including asking voters to approve a sales, utility, or parcel tax. Another option could be a bond measure to cover construction improvements.

The council also agreed June 8 to have city officials look into creating a foundation to solicit donations for the library, but Mayor Lee Duboc noted that a foundation -- which requires staff and incurs expenses -- wouldn't be a complete answer for the library's needs.

"If we did have a foundation, we'd probably want to have a parcel tax as well," she mused.

Councilwoman Mickie Winkler also expressed a strong desire to look into the new funding options. Staff will come back with more details and possible timelines at a later meeting.

A group of residents recently helped city staff and the Library Commission come up with a strategic plan for the future of the main library and the Belle Haven neighborhood branch. They said several improvements are needed, including upgraded lighting, furnishings and landscaping and an expansion of floor space in the main library.

In addition, they said reference and other collections need to be augmented across the board, and that the library needs funding for literacy training, a young adult services librarian, and other personnel.

If all the goals mentioned in the plan come to pass, it would cost $2 million in one-time capital expenditures and ongoing annual costs of up to $500,000, library services director Susan Holmer said.

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