HUNTINGTON PARK : Fee Approved to Extend Hours at Libraries

The City Council has paved the way for increased hours at local libraries by adopting a property assessment approved this summer by the County Board of Supervisors.

The city’s library will probably expand its hours from 28 per week to 50, and its days of operation from four to six, said Albert Tovar, the area manager for libraries in Southeast and East Los Angeles.

“Needless to say, this is a big victory for Huntington Park,” Tovar said.

The assessment will range from $28.50 annually for a single-family household to several hundred dollars for most commercial properties. The Board of Supervisors voted 3 to 1 in July to set up a Community Facilities District to fund extended library service.

Sixteen cities in the county have voted to join the district, which is expected to raise $16 million a year for the county library system. Property owners in unincorporated areas will also pay the fee, which will appear on November property tax bills.

Aside from Cudahy, Huntington Park was the only Southeast city to approve the assessment.

According to county estimates, the assessment is expected to net an additional $365,000 for the Huntington Park library. The library’s yearly operating budget had dropped from $1.3 million in fiscal 1992-93 to $985,000 in fiscal 1993-94. An estimated 160,000 people use the library each year, according to figures compiled by the county library system.