Letter to the Editor: Measure L Means Funding for the Dixon Public Library

By Joe DiPaola

On Tuesday, June 5, 2012, Solano County voters will be asked to vote to approve/disapprove Measure L, which  will fund libraries in Solano County, including the Dixon Public Library.  Measure L reads as follows:

In my personal capacity as a Dixon resident and library patron (not in any official capacity) I am asking Dixon voters to consider the importance of Measure L to the Dixon Public Library.

Sixteen years ago in 1998, Measure B was approved, which was a 0.125% increase in county-wide sales taxes (i.e. 1/8 of 1%, or the equivalent of one cent additional sales tax for every eight dollars spent on taxable items) to fund county libraries, including the Dixon Public Library.  Measure B will expire in 2014; Measure L is the successor to Measure B, and is intended to fund county libraries at the same sales tax rate from 2014 to 2030.

Currently, the Dixon Public Library receives $500,000 in sales tax revenues annually from Measure B, or about 55% of its operating budget.  If Measure L does not pass, then the Dixon Public Library will see those funds disappear in 2014, and significant cuts in library services will likely be experienced. The Solano County Board of Supervisors’ 2/15/12 Resolution contained the following wording, which correctly describes the problem:

This is at a time when the Dixon Unified School District (DUSD) has already been forced to reduce critical library services in our schools.

Dixon voters should not confuse Measure L with the extravagant and excessive 32,000 square foot “New Dixon Library Project” previously promoted by the out-going District Librarian.  Monies from Measure L will be used to purchase books and for operating purposes, not to fund construction of “palaces”.  Moreover, there is an independent oversight committee which is tasked to see that doesn’t happen.

Earl Heal, President of the Solano County Taxpayer’s Association has previously stated:

However, Mr. Heal then expressed two concerns that the Taxpayer’s Association has with implementation of the current wording in Measure L:

In other words, the Taxpayers Association is not per se opposed to library funding, but suggests instead that Measure L return to the ballot in November 2012 after these concerns are appropriately addressed by wording changes.

While I understand and respect these two important concerns of the Taxpayer’s Association (and its core mission to protect taxpayers from waste), in this case I respectfully disagree with their proposed deferral of Measure L to a future election. Both of the concerns have been historically issues only with the Dixon Library; I have not heard of any other Measure B-funded libraries where there were any concerns about how the monies were spent.

With respect to the Dixon Library, both of these concerns center around the issue of whether or not monies were wisely and properly spent on the “New Dixon Library Project”. As I said above, Measure L and the ‘New Dixon Library Project” are two separate issues: support for Measure L does not mean support for the “New Dixon Library Project”. Moreover, governance at the Dixon Library is in the process of dramatic and sweeping fundamental change:

If anything, after July 2012 an “UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT” banner should hang in front of the Dixon Public Library—because change is already happening which in my opinion should resolve the two concerns of the Taxpayers Association.

In summary, Measure L is a continuation of an already-existing tax that has operationally funded the Dixon Public Library and helped it to provide library services to Dixon residents for the past 14 years.  Now that many positive, significant changes are occurring at the Dixon Public Library, Dixon voters should carefully weigh the importance of Measure L to its future.

Editor's note: Joe DiPaola submitted this Letter to the Editor as a Dixon resident and library patron only, and not in his official capacity.