Voters in Jackson County and several other Oregon counties voted down tax increases that would have restored or maintained library services. Libraries and other public services, such as fire and police protection, had been supported through a federal timber subsidy that ended last year.
The 15 library branches in Jackson County were closed last month to address a budget shortfall. The levy, defeated 59 percent to 41 percent, would have raised about $24.9 million over the next three years and had the libraries up and running again by next month.
Many residents continue to hope for a last-minute federal bail-out, which appears increasingly unlikely. Save Our Library System, a group organized to advocate for saving the Jackson County libraries, will continue to find a solution to the closures. More from Oregon Live.
Other County Libraries will be Impacted
What’s not brought up in this (and similar articles) is that when non-library funding measures aren’t passed, library (and other county department) budgets are directly impacted to make up for the loss of funding for “critical services” (e.g. fire, safety, police).
I suspect that Josephine and possibly Douglas county libraries will either drastically cut hours or close completely as a result of these levy measures not passing.
other losers
Anyone care to hazard a guess as to what is going to happen to the stats of the neighboring libraries?
More business that they can’t handle.