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KEN DEVOL, ANCHOR:
How to fund the county’s libraries is back in discussion in Butte County.
The county board of supervisors approved a contract with consultants to determine voters’ interest in a possible future library tax.
NSPR’s Erik Adams reports.
ERIK ADAMS, REPORTER:
In March of next year, the Butte County Library system may see a revenue measure on the ballot.
The board voted to approve hiring two contractor groups to determine the feasibility of a ballot measure.
There will be two phases to the project.
In the first phase, contractors will conduct 600 surveys to research voters' opinions about the proposed tax, and look at voting patterns and demographics. The second phase would inform the public about the measure.
The vote was 4-1 with Supervisor Bill Connelly, who represents District 1, as the sole vote against the contract’s approval
CONNELLY: “If the library is to exist as a system, we simply should go to the voters and see if they want to vote for a library system. I think this is [an] unnecessary expense.”
The cost of the project is not to exceed a little more than $167,000 and will come from the county’s contingency fund.
