Library May Be on the Shelf : Palos Verdes Peninsula: Officials predict that up to 92% of the library district’s $4.5-million operating budget may be lost if the state siphons local property taxes to help balance its books.

The library district serving the Palos Verdes Peninsula, which had hoped to double its size in an ambitious expansion this year, may be forced to drastically curtail services--or even close--because of the state budget crisis.

The threat comes from moves in the state Legislature to use local property taxes, some of which have been earmarked to support the library district, to help pay off the huge budget deficit.

At a minimum, officials say a third of the district’s $4.5-million operating budget may be lost because of legislative proposals. The outcome will depend on the final state budget, but officials warn that losing this much of the library district’s operation budget would wipe out many local services.

Under the worst scenario, the district could lose up to 92% of its funding, forcing the staff to shut the library system down, officials said. This could also derail the district’s $16-million library expansion plan, approved by 80% of voters two years ago in a special election.

The future looks bleak, no matter what happens in the next few days or weeks in Sacramento, said library director Linda P. Elliott.

“The library district will lose funding under any of the proposed state budget solutions. . . . The result would be chaotic for the library district,” Elliott said.

The peninsula-wide library district, formed nearly 30 years ago because voters wanted more services than the county library system provided, currently has three branches, 250,000 books and well-stocked shelves of audio and videotapes.

“We circulate over a million books a year,” Elliott said, adding that the district has issued more than 50,000 library cards.

The central library, located at 650 Deep Valley Drive in Rolling Hills Estates, also serves as a community center and offers a wide variety of children’s services.

Two years ago, peninsula residents overwhelmingly approved a plan to issue bonds to fund a $16-million expansion of the central library. When residents heard about efforts to divert library funds to ease the deficit, patrons launched a letter-writing campaign in protest.

“I can assure you of a most negative, if not hostile reaction in Palos Verdes,” wrote John C. Weaver in a letter to the governor. Weaver, a retired university president from Rancho Palos Verdes, added that “management of our special library district did not contribute to the state’s massive deficit and should not be asked to sacrifice its existence to solving it.”

This year, with state revenues falling amid a sluggish economy, the Legislature and the governor are locked in battle over which programs should be cut to alleviate an $11-billion state deficit.

The worst-case scenario focuses on local property taxes raised by hundreds of special districts across the state, including the one on the peninsula created to support the library system. These local taxes would be taken over by the state and pooled in a so-called “super-pot” totaling $1.7 billion a year, officials said.

Since 92% of the peninsula library district’s budget comes from local property taxes, the district would have to give up more than $4 million a year to the state fund, Elliott said.

The state would use a fourth of this super-pot money to help pay off the state deficit; the rest would be sent back to the counties. It would then be up to the County Board of Supervisors to determine how much of that money to funnel back to the peninsula library district.

Dozens of special districts in Los Angeles County were formed to support a variety of services. Officials fear the districts would wind up competing before the Board of Supervisors for a share of the returned super-pot funds.

“After the state takes its cut . . . the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors would decide the level of funding to be returned to our library district,” said Robert A. Rowe, president of the library trustees. He said there are no safeguards to guarantee the library would get any money at all.

“This plan flies in the face of responsible local government and local control,” he said, noting that the library district would no longer control its funding nor be able to move ahead with expansion plans.

In the face of the expected shortfall, the library board has ordered a hiring freeze and is cutting back on costs. Signs on the near-empty shelves where new books are kept explain: “The library has stopped buying new books as a result of the prospective loss of funds by the pending action of the state legislature.”

In an era of recession and budget cuts that have reduced library services across Southern California, the peninsula library system had been relatively well-off because its funding comes directly from property taxes raised in a relatively wealthy area.

The district did suffer a temporary setback in 1978, when state voters approved Prop. 13, which radically reduced the property tax base. However, those losses were quickly offset by state bailout funds that kept cities and library districts going.

In 1979, the Legislature passed a series of permanent bailout measures under which the state assumed the cost of public school education. This released more property tax revenues for cities and special districts like the peninsula library system.

But facing a huge deficit, state officials are considering repealing the 1979 bailout laws. If the measure passes, the library district will still lose $1.5 million, or one-third, of its total budget.

“A loss of this magnitude would bring about reductions in library hours, services and branch service,” Elliott said.

The best hope the district has is a series of amendments offered by Assemblyman Sam Farr, (D-Santa Cruz), chairman of the Assembly Local Government Committee. Farr’s amendments would limit the amount of money that could be taken from a special library district to 10% of its total budget.

Whatever happens, Rowe said, “It is clear that the library district will lose some level of property tax revenues and we must begin to plan for that reality.”