Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Proposed Library Property-Tax Levy
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April 12, 2012 at 1:25 am #602858
JiggersMemberI am surprised that this hasn’t been brought to attention yet. So here we go again in revitalizing much needed services on behalf of property owners who pay taxes. What is your thoughts on the matter? Let it decline and vote NO? Or sustain its future by voting YES?
article,
http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2012/04/funding/seattle-council-considers-library-levy/
April 12, 2012 at 3:22 pm #754666
JiggersMemberWhistling…
April 12, 2012 at 8:59 pm #754667
Ms. SparklesParticipantI was completely unaware of this until your post. The petulant, childish part of me wants to say I’m voting “No” because I think the Library Board was absolutely wrong in it’s response to the porn-viewing on library computers debacle…but I will probably vote for it despite my lingering doubts about the board critical thinking skills.
At worst I will abstain from voting on this issue.
April 13, 2012 at 3:27 pm #754668
JiggersMemberVote NO then if you feel that way. Ms. Sparkles. Remember, the library system is a fabric part of our commuinty. If the system declines because it lacks the money to continue operating, so does the communities that surrounds it. It becomes like a rotten tooth that isn’t taken care of properly. It decays. Look at the area round Key Arena and Seattle Center how downridden it looks because lack of monies. Not pretty. The porn viewing you’ve mentioned is really insignificant to the other services that are used. Tens of housands of people would suffer if the other services that the system provides have been taken away because you voted NO. It’s a small price to pay to keep vital services operating correctly.
April 13, 2012 at 3:42 pm #754669
DBPMemberWell said, Jiggers! But I think Mrs. Sparkles is still on our side. She didn’t like the porn-at-the-library decision, but she’s still supporting the library.
That’s what I call community spirit.
Good form.
April 13, 2012 at 5:48 pm #754670
JiggersMemberBut if you don’t vote at all…. That’s even a bigger mistake. You are throwing away your right to vote by not voting.
April 13, 2012 at 10:44 pm #754671
anonymeParticipantI feel much the same way as Ms. Sparkles. I think a compromise might be to make it clear to the libary that this is a decisive issue for a lot of people. They could have handled this situation a lot differently while still honoring both sides of the argument. Their stance may cost them a lot of votes.
I will probably always support library funding, but I will also let them know that their choice to accommodate “all” patrons in actuality creates a hostile and unwelcome environment for many.
April 14, 2012 at 12:09 am #754672
DBPMemberThey could have handled this [pornography on library computers] situation a lot differently while still honoring both sides of the argument.
How could they have done that, anon? What would you have done differently if you were SPL?
April 14, 2012 at 12:59 am #754673
JayDeeParticipantWhile I think the library is a valuable service the constant cost-shifting from the City’s general fund to special ballot measures is irritating. Library levies, fire department levies, street maintenance levies, levies for affordable housing, parks levies. They become self-perpetuating. What happens to all the general fund monies freed up by offloading even critical city services to levies? OK, rant over.
April 14, 2012 at 1:34 am #754674
Talaki34ParticipantIn the past I have always tried to support public services like libraries and museums, but this time around (not that it will make a difference) I will be voting “no.”
April 14, 2012 at 1:53 am #754675
JoBParticipantwhere would we be without our public libraries?
April 14, 2012 at 2:19 am #754676
JiggersMemberIf all you folks think about is the porn issue, you are not really looking at the big picture of what voting NO really means. Have a good day now!
April 14, 2012 at 3:14 am #754677
anonymeParticipantJayDee has a good point. Levies and the constant barrage of new ballot measures and initiatives really make it difficult to know how much we’re actually being hit up for. It’s way too complicated, and probably for good reason.
DBP, I’ll answer your question, but I really don’t see the point of re-hashing the library porn issue. First, I did not appreciate how patrons who were concerned about the issue were treated by library officials as prurient busybodies. Second, the installation of barriers (cubicle walls) behind the outward facing screens was not an unrealistic or cost-prohibitive solution as portrayed.
April 14, 2012 at 6:01 am #754678
smokeycretin9ParticipantI wil be voting NO. There is soo much the libraries and the city can do to cut spending and there is sooo much information on the web these days. The days of going down to your local library to find a book on the Solar System is becoming out dated.
April 14, 2012 at 6:25 am #754679
datamuseParticipantSmokeycretin9, do you have any idea how much of that web-based information is funded BY libraries?
I don’t work for SPL, but at my university, it’s 75% of our acquisitions budget. We buy a lot fewer books these days.
Personally, I can’t remember the last time I helped someone find a book on the solar system. But, I do remember the last time I helped a student find research papers on orbital mechanics…
April 14, 2012 at 8:09 am #754680
Admiral935ParticipantI don’t own property so not sure I could justify voting for a property tax increase. I’ll donate directly, I think they call it Friends of the Library.
April 14, 2012 at 10:43 am #754681
JoBParticipantAdmiral935..
if you rent.. you pay property tax.
your landlord simply adds it into your bill.
April 14, 2012 at 11:14 am #754682
Admiral935ParticipantDuh, please
April 14, 2012 at 4:25 pm #754683
DBPMemberFirst, I did not appreciate how patrons who were concerned about the issue were treated by library officials as prurient busybodies. Second, the installation of barriers (cubicle walls) behind the outward facing screens was not an unrealistic or cost-prohibitive solution as portrayed.
OK, thanks for getting back to me, anonyme. I would recommend that you get back to the library on these issues BEFORE the vote. Tell them you’re thinking about abstaining on this one and give them your reasons, just like you did above.
Now you could always say, “If the levy fails, they’ll KNOW why it failed,” but that’s not necessarily true. Chances are they won’t know — unless people tell them.
April 14, 2012 at 7:43 pm #754684
JanSParticipantwhat I see? Some of you would rather cut off your nose to spite your face.
April 14, 2012 at 7:59 pm #754685
kootchmanMemberIt’s been a long time since I visited the public library. So I will go. If I see a vibrant community of young users on a Saturday I will vote yes. If it is empty, I will vote no. I will visit three of them. However, I don’t like the ruse from the city. The city council has found the merits of not being able to budget and balance in a consolidated city budget. Levies, fees, fines, and make it too difficult to see how we prioritize. Maybe it’s time we consolidated the dual expense of maintaining both city library services and public colleges into one system that include community centers. It is becoming an archaic model? Maybe. If it’s like USPS, and has become obsolete and too expensive to maintain for a tiny minority of users with other options. I will vote no.
April 14, 2012 at 8:22 pm #754686
miwsParticipantkootch, make one of your visits on a just about any given day, especially a weekday, to the Central Library down town, just before it opens. (10:00; am M-Sa, Noon; Su)
The crowd may not all be vibrant and young, but you’ll definitely see quite a crowd of people waiting to get in, on the 4th Av, side, and on probably on the 5th Av side as well.
Mike
April 14, 2012 at 8:34 pm #754687
kootchmanMemberToo expensive to park, and a hassle to get to. I will check out the local ones. If it is mainly an electronic access point, I would be disappointed. If it has embraced a youth literacy or ESL outreach program… I would be very much inclined to support it.
April 14, 2012 at 8:46 pm #754688
JanSParticipanthow can you say you’ve investigated, if you don’t go to the main one? What hogwash !
April 14, 2012 at 8:51 pm #754689
anonymeParticipantDBP, as per my first post, that’s exactly my intention. I’ve already made my opinion known both verbally and in writing regarding the porn issue and (non) response. I will now let SPL know that many votes – including mine – may well hang in the balance due to this situation.
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