Budget cut leads to
reduced library services

By RAELYNN RICARTE
News staff writer

The Hood River County Library will reduce hours at three facilities on July 1 due to a major cut in its operating budget.

In addition to a 40 percent average drop in public service hours, regular library employees have all taken a 20 percent pay cut.

“We have a really great staff and my intent is to keep them together,” said June Knudson, library director.

“One of the reasons that we’ve had to curtail hours is to make it work with the staff that we have.”

On July 1, the State Street library will no longer be open on Mondays and Sunday hours (suspended for summer) might not be renewed. On Tuesdays the facility will open at 10:30 a.m. and close at 7 p.m., a reduction of 3 and one-half hours. 

On Thursday and Friday, also once 12-hour days, the library will open at 10:30 a.m. and close at 5 p.m.  The new Saturday schedule will be 1 to 5 p.m. instead of 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Parkdale library will be open 10 hours per week instead of 14 as of July 1. The new hours will be: Tuesday and Wednesday from 2-5 p.m. and Thursday from 3-7 p.m.

The City of Cascade Locks is paying for four hours of service and will receive a total of 11 hours, down from 17 in 2008-09. Services will be provided from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 2 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday and 2 to 7 p.m. on Thursday.

The library received the largest budget cut of any county department for fiscal year 2009-10. The budget has been reduced from $730,275 to $508,900.

That reduction followed meetings held by the county board with all department heads during the summer and fall of 2008. The elected body wanted to learn which services were mandated and which were elective.

“I’ve never gotten the feeling that the county commissioners or administrator feel the library is a lesser service,” said Knudson.

“It’s simply that it doesn’t enforce Oregon law so it is not a mandated service.”

After learning this spring about the probability of a large budget cut, Knudson approached the situation pragmatically. She conferred with the 21 full and part-time, as well as on-call, staffers.

Assistant Director Kathy Thomas, who had been with the library for 27 years, decided to take an early retirement to alleviate some of the budget stress. By not working for two more years as planned, Knudson said Thomas spared employees from further cuts.

As it is, two-thirds of page (shelver) hours are no longer funded. In addition, two-thirds of on-call hours involving eight workers have been eliminated altogether.

In May 2010, voters will be asked to create a special taxing district for the library. The county is putting together an 11-member panel in July to begin gathering data that will be used to define the ballot measure.

For example, indirect services now provided to the library by the county will have to be factored into the amount asked of property owners. These services include mowing, snow shoveling, maintenance, insurance and accounting.

Knudson said the advisory group will consist of two librarians, two members of Friends of the Library, two representatives from the Library Foundation and five community members.

After 34 years on the job, Knudson has learned that the community is supportive of its libraries. She said citizens came together to expand the State Street facility several years ago and will be done paying on that bond levy in 2015.

“I’m thinking this (formation of a library district) is going to be the same open process,” she said.

“We’ll hold hearings and get input from the public because this is the people’s library and it should be what they want it to be.”