VENTURA : Library Tax Is Backed in Survey

Ventura residents overwhelmingly support a library tax to increase operating hours at the city’s two largest branches, a survey shows.

Eight-seven percent of residents questioned said they would be willing to pay an annual levy to keep E. P. Foster and Wright libraries open more hours, according to a survey conducted by the Library Services Agency.

About 1,100 residents filled out the survey at 10 sites throughout the city in October, said Trish Cavanaugh, a spokeswoman for the library agency. Although the poll is not scientific, it does indicate a clear demand for better library service in Ventura, she said.

“People want libraries to be open more hours and they’re even willing to pay more tax to get that,” she said. “I think it’s really encouraging.”

Cavanaugh said county library officials are now weighing whether to put a proposed library levy on the ballot next year so Ventura residents can vote on the issue. She said such proposals have passed in other counties where the measure required only a majority vote.

But in areas where the levy needed two-thirds of the vote for approval, it usually failed, she said. The survey’s results demonstrate high interest for a measure in Ventura, she said.

“You want to have a good idea that it would pass before you spend money getting it on a ballot.”

Ninety-three percent of the respondents said the city of Ventura should contribute money to add hours to the libraries’ schedule. City officials are now considering such a proposal.

A majority of respondents, 57%, said they would be willing to pay $25 a year to support the libraries. The Library Services Agency’s budget has been cut by 40% over the past two years, from $10.1 million to $6.7 million, Cavanaugh said.

The agency runs 16 branches throughout the county, including those in Ventura.