Hundreds of Quad Cities residents already are benefitting from the Aug. 29 election, during which voters overwhelmingly approved a 0.75 percent sales tax requested under Proposition 443.
The immediate benefit is the expansion of Prescott Public Library hours to include 1-5 p.m. on Sundays; and the hiring of four part-time library staff members, said Prescott Library Director Roger Saft.
He explained that because of that tax increase, which will become effective Jan. 1, city officials were able to find additional dollars in the city budget to support expanded hours and additional staff. Dozens of townspeople and several city officials gathered at 1 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 8, to celebrate with a ceremonial ribbon cutting at the library’s main entrance.
“The first weekend we had the new hours in effect, we had more than 500 people come through the doors,” he said.
Opening the ceremonies, Saft expressed gratitude to voters who supported the tax. He also thanked City Council members for their ongoing endorsement of expanding library hours and additional personnel. He said that even during tough economic times, voters and the city demonstrated solid support of a significant public asset.
Current library hours as follows:
Sunday: 1-5 p.m.
Monday, Friday, Saturday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Prescott City Manager Michael Lamar told those present, “The Clty Library is the living room of Prescott. What this library offers taxpayers is unique, and makes Prescott distinctive among not just Arizona communities but also the U.S.”
William E. Arnold, president of Friends of the Prescott Public Library, said he especially appreciated the hard work that Prescott City Council members Billie Orr and Steve Sischka put into educating voters about Proposition 443.
Both Orr and Sischka spoke, explaining that the ultimate purpose of the proposition was to dedicate a 0.75 sales tax on every dollar to be dedicated to paying down the $78 million unfunded pension liability created through the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS) administered by the state. That payment will pay down that fund for 10 years, from Jan. 2, 2018 to Dec. 31, 2027.
If the proposition had not passed, money would have been taken from the city’s general fund to pay the annual PSPRS cost. Passage of the new tax now allows those general fund dollars to be used for other essential city expenses, such as the library and parks and recreation, the two council members explained.
Saft later told attendees that the library has 21 full-time and now 10 part-time staff, thanks to new hires. He also said that more than 150 volunteers routinely help at the library. QCBN
By Ray Newton, QCBN
For more information, visit prescottlibrary.info
Photo by Ray Newton
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