South Bay Cities Reject County Library Tax District : Spending: Only Carson and Lomita support $28.50 annual fee. Citing unfair burden to homeowners, officials are studying other ways to raise the revenue.

South Bay cities have overwhelmingly rejected a new tax to support the county library system.

Lawndale joined Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Avalon and Gardena in rejecting the district that would assess each household $28.50 a year for libraries. Hawthorne officials decided not to vote on the issue, in effect excluding them from the district this year.

Carson and Lomita supported the tax. In addition, the County Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday that libraries in unincorporated areas--including three that serve the South Bay--will benefit from the special district.

In Lawndale, which has one county library, the City Council voted unanimously Monday to turn down the tax.

“The library could be run more effectively without all the overhead of the system,” Councilwoman Nancy Marthens said.

The Hawthorne council decided at a special meeting Friday not to vote on the issue. Mayor Larry Guidi said the city was not given enough time to find funding solutions other than taxes.

Library officials said that if Hawthorne decides to not join the special district, the Wiseburn branch, one of Hawthorne’s two libraries, may be closed.

Officials in Hawthorne and Lawndale said they were uncomfortable adding another tax to their communities. Both financially strapped cities recently increased utility fees.

In an effort to replace more than $30 million in budget cuts, library officials have asked city councils throughout the county to support the special tax district.

The cuts have forced many libraries to reduce hours and freeze spending on books, computers and reference materials, said Jean Alexander, Los Angeles County library regional administrator.

Library revenue comes mainly from property taxes and is distributed on the basis of library usage. Legislation sponsored by state Sen. Ralph C. Dills (D-El Segundo) and signed Monday by Gov. Pete Wilson will protect that revenue from further cuts.

Library officials said that with base library funding protected, they hope the special tax would help bring libraries up to the level of service before the cuts.

But at hearings across the South Bay, residents complained that adding the tax was unfair to property owners and made no allowances for people--especially senior citizens--who are on fixed incomes. Many residents and local officials also said they wanted to support their local library but did not trust the county with extra tax revenue.

“The county is raping the property owners,” Lawndale Councilman Larry Rudolph said.

Many of the cities that voted against the tax are considering other ways of making up the difference.

Hermosa Beach officials say that pulling out of the county library district and funding their own library would be better than joining the special district. Even though Hermosa rejected the proposal, its library will be funded an extra day, library officials said, because of the way funding is calculated. Allocations are based on library use, the amount of money from the area in property taxes and the population.

Other cities are considering forming a regional library district or trying to raise money from private sources.

Manhattan Beach and Gardena have paid $1,300 to $1,700 a day for extra days of service.

But library officials say that those prices will rise dramatically to pay for new materials, building maintenance and administrative costs.

Libraries in Carson and Lomita can expect significant increases in their operating hours and budgets, Alexander said. Officials began calculating those increases this week.