Will Fulton taxpayers pony up for library system?

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Will Fulton taxpayers pony up for library system?

By D.L. BENNETT
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/01/08

Fulton County officials are about to test residents' commitment to libraries with a proposal to raise property taxes to pay for a huge building program.

Depending on the final numbers, Fulton residents could be asked to raise taxes as much as 0.4 mills to pay for bonds for a program likely to cost more than $350 million.

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County commissioner Robb Pitts said he thinks residents are ready for a world class library system and are willing to pay for it.

"Libraries are catalysts for economic development," Pitts said. "They are gathering places. When was our last bond issue [for libraries]? Thirty years ago. We won't have this opportunity again. I think the people will approve it."

The program commissioners will consider Wednesday would build eight libraries, expand two and renovate 24 more at a cost of $225 million. There's also a proposal to build a signature central library downtown for another $173 million plus land costs.

Library officials expect to spend at least $8 million in yearly operational costs when it's all built.

The building program started at about $100 million originally last year but has increased as officials have added for land, inflation and other costs.

Pitts suggested the a new downtown library as a last-minute addition to the program. The current building, a boxy, concrete structure with a foreboding, nearly windowless facade, was designed in the brutalist style by noted architect Marcel Breuer nearly 30 years ago.

"Until now, I had never really focused on how ugly that thing really is. If you walk around three sides, it's all concrete," Pitts said.

Pitts hopes it can be sold to offset the cost of the new 300,000-square-foot central library. A new central library would also allow library officials to subtract from this proposal the $34 million to renovate the downtown library already in the main program.

John Szabo, library director, said commissioners will have to decide at what point the building program becomes so ambitious that voters reject it solely on cost. "That's a good debate to have," he said.

Commissioners need to approve a program Wednesday so a resolution calling for a referendum can be drawn up and approved in two weeks. County lawyers said that timing is needed so the final program can be put on the November ballot.

As planned, the program renovates or builds new libraries in almost every community around the county.

George Ragsdale, who lives in Milton, said he was excited the program calls for building a library in the north Fulton city. However, he's not sure the program is well thought out or whether the new central library is a good use of public money.

"They've mismanaged so many things so much. ... I'm not willing to invest in it," Ragsdale said.

Dan Young, who lives in the Sandtown just south of Atlanta, said he would vote to increase his taxes to improve libraries.

"I don't mind extra taxes for things that have results you can see and broad benefits," Young said.

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Comments

By Eric Johnson

Jul 3, 2008 2:03 AM | Link to this

This is absolutely ridiculous! When is the last time you have been in a library? There is one less than a mile from my house and the only time I have been there was to vote! They are like ghost towns. The reason people do not use libraries much any more is this crazy thing called the "Internet." I have access to more information than all libraries in the world on my cell phone! Even college campuses are reducing their library programs and expanding their technology infrastructure. We use to have common bath houses too. Then people got indoor plumbing.

Let the library system die. $225M could give the entire county wireless Internet access. I thought Atlanta was a city of the future...

By Eric Johnson

Jul 3, 2008 2:03 AM | Link to this

This is absolutely ridiculous! When is the last time you have been in a library? There is one less than a mile from my house and the only time I have been there was to vote! They are live ghost towns. The reason people do not use libraries much any more is this crazy thing called the "Internet." I have access to more information than all libraries in the world on my cell phone! Even college campuses are reducing their library programs and expanding their technology infrastructure. We use to have common bath houses too. Then people got indoor plumbing.

Let the library system die. $225M could give the entire county wireless Internet access. I thought Atlanta was a city of the future...

By lucky

Jul 2, 2008 5:18 PM | Link to this

Library: another name for homeless shelter.

By CJ

Jul 2, 2008 3:13 PM | Link to this

I agree with the previous writer, �UTTERLY RIDICULOUS". In a time when the Atlanta/Fulton County economy is in the toilet with high gas prices, Georgia�s home foreclosure rate in the top five in the nation and with Georgia�s unemployment rate at 5.8% and rising. Only a foolish county commissioner would suggest raising taxes for anything. What Mr. Pitts would be doing is figuring out how he can CUT taxes and save the taxpayers money. This is just one of several proposals lately that shows that the out-of-touch Fulton County Commissioners are just a big waste of time and do not serve the public interests with thought or reason.

By library mismanagement

Jul 2, 2008 2:59 PM | Link to this

Let the Library System pay for its plans with the $20 Million reverse race-discrimination settlement they had to shell out. Oops, you mean that was our money?

By it's called the internet

Jul 2, 2008 1:13 PM | Link to this

utterly ridiculous.. i wonder when a city council member last used a library? library's no longer store books, only the crackheads and bums that need shelter.

By N. Fulton not getting fair share

Jul 2, 2008 11:57 AM | Link to this

When, and only when, the Fulton-Atlanta Library System treats all residents on a fair-share basis will I support this. Gee, what's the per capita ratio of libraries to residents in Fulton, by library? Why is it not equal? Why are there so many more residents in North Fulton yet so many fewer libraries? What's fair? Yet once again, Fulton will mooch off N. Fulton and not provide proportionate support to ALL RESIDENTS.

By keeping fair share from N. Fulton

Jul 2, 2008 11:55 AM | Link to this

By J

Jul 2, 2008 10:41 AM | Link to this

I'm not for increased taxes usually but the libraries in fulton county do suck pretty bad.....

By Jocelyn, MLS

Jul 2, 2008 10:36 AM | Link to this

Architects and history aside: hemmed in by retail is exactly what many libraries across the nation want. Library Trustees and staff find that by placing our libraries in user friendly locations, library use soars and reaches new readers.
Who is speaking for the public and saying that we don't want new users or higher circulation? Who is saying we don't want to promote literacy in multi-lingual Atlanta?
Decisions, such as these, are telling trade-offs and by consequence demonstrate what the decision makers value. The outcome will be instructive to this new Fulton County resident.

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