By RAELYNN RICARTE
News staff writer

The cities of Cascade Locks and Hood River will be asked on Monday to sign a resolution allowing a new Library District to operate within their respective jurisdictions.

If approved, the Board of County Commissioners will adopt an order to establish the district on Dec. 7. Public hearings will then be scheduled in January to gather citizen comment on an operational plan developed by a special task force.

Voters will ultimately decide the fate of the new taxing district in the May 18 primary election.

The Hood River County Library Task Force is recommending that the county ask the electorate to approve a tax rate of 70 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation. That revenue will be used to fund library branches in Hood River, Parkdale and Cascade Locks.

“The task force firmly believes that the citizens of this county want to see services restored, the levels of materials increased, and the roller coaster of financial support halted. We are writing a new chapter in the legacy of the library,” stated the group’s report that was submitted to the county board on Nov. 2.

Serving on the task force are: Michael Schock, chair; Glenn Harris, vice-chair; Al Gosiak, secretary; John Marker, Kat Masek, Elizabeth Garber, Pat Hazlehurst, Paul Woolery, Lynn Lewis, Diana Carroll, Jennifer Fowler, Ben Dane and Maggie Sholar.

The panel was activated after the county board announced last summer that, due to budget constraints, it would eliminate funding for the libraries in fiscal year 2010-11. The county has agreed to develop a funding plan with a new district that will bridge the gap between the start of the new fiscal year in July and the time that tax revenue becomes available in November.

The task force consulted with the Friends of the Library, the Library Foundation, Oregon Library Association and Oregon Special District Association while preparing recommendations. Their goal was to develop a budget model that outlined how much money would be needed from taxpayers to sustain the facilities, and how that funding would be spent.

Library patrons were also surveyed by task force members to determine which services were the most popular. Ninety-six percent of the 160 people who took the survey visited the library, most often to check out reading materials.

The task force is recommending a budget of about $304,000 per year to cover expenses and the purchase of both literature and computer equipment. That budget assumes the county will continue to provide accounting, data processing support and human resource support on a fee basis.

The proposed service levels for the district include 64 operational hours in Hood River, 18 in Cascade Locks and 15 in Parkdale. A 30 percent reduction in the library budget for fiscal year 2009-10 cut existing hours from 96 to 58 per week and the book budget by 60 percent.

The task force estimates that 18 percent of the new district’s annual budget could be used to purchase new collections, including more materials for Hispanic patrons.

Transition issues to be addressed in an intergovernmental agreement between the county and district include: Transfer of property, disposition of employee benefits, administration support, communication system disposition and policy development.

The library district, if approved, will be governed by a five-member board, with assistance from Friends and the Foundation.

The original State Street central library was constructed with a $17,500 Carnegie grant in 1912. A $3 million bond measure was approved by voters in 2000 to expand and upgrade the structure. In addition, the Foundation helped raise $1.4 million more to finish the project.

In 2005, library supporters helped raise funds for the build-out of Georgiana Smith Park, which provided a place for people to recreate and relax on the grounds.