Countywide : Board Checking Out Library Maintenance
The Orange County Board of Supervisors, worried that the financially troubled library system could fall into disrepair, Tuesday asked for a review of maintenance schedules at each of its 27 branches.
“I want to make sure that nothing gets out of hand or falls down,” board Chairman Thomas F. Riley said.
Libraries have absorbed the heaviest budget cuts of any county department in the past three years, forcing a 40% reduction in hours and the loss of 75 full-time workers. During that same period, county officials also curtailed spending on maintenance and equipment.
The review comes at a time when a special, board-appointed library task force is preparing a study of its own on how the library can raise more money through individual contributions or other programs to maintain current operations.
The task force report is expected to be completed next month before the county begins budget hearings.
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