Three years ago, before the depths of the current economic downturn could be fully envisioned, Fulton County voters approved the most expensive library construction program in state history.
Now, as it’s preparing to launch that $275 million construction program -- which will build eight new libraries, fund at least half the cost of a new Central Library and touch every existing branch through consolidations, expansions and renovations -- the county has no plan for raising the estimated $8 million a year needed to keep the lights on and the checkout counters staffed once the new branches are built.
It's a tale of economic forces rewriting fiscal realities. Unless the outlook changes -- including a potential county budget shortfall of $100 million next year -- Fulton may have to employ some of the same measures as its neighbors in Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties, scaling back operating hours, cutting programs, scheduling worker furloughs and leaning on volunteer labor.
“Philosophically, I would say put the brakes on,” Fulton Commissioner Liz Hausmann said. “But I’m one commissioner, and there’s no way I could make that happen.”
County Finance Director Patrick O’Connor said the County Commission could stop the building program if it wanted. The problem, he said, is that the county sold $167 million in bonds last summer and would have to continue making payments on the debt. To a taxpayer with a $150,000 home, that would mean about $15 per year.
The bond proceeds could be put in hold, O’Connor said, and the commission could delay issuing bonds for the second phase. Few people in Fulton are suggesting any such thing, though, and it’s highly unlikely the idea could win a commission vote.
Atlanta-Fulton libraries Director John Szabo said he has no regrets about putting the projects on the ballot during the worst economic slump since the Great Depression. The fact that 65 percent of voters supported it when the economy was in its nosedive shows how much they want better libraries, he said.
O’Connor added that, at the time voters approved the construction program, experts were still predicting the economy would bounce back. “The economy wasn’t anywhere near in as bad of shape as it is now,” he said.
But Katherine Willoughby, a professor of public management and policy at Georgia State University, said government planners shouldn't bank on a turnaround any time soon. The recession has cut into property values, dragging down tax digests.
"What we're dealing with now is that revenues have dried up," she said. "I think we're coming to grips with just how long the effects of all this mess are going to last."
Despite the financial difficulties, residents in line for new libraries don't want a longer wait.
Alpharetta City Councilman Jim Paine points out that libraries serve “the very young all the way to senior citizens.” Libraries are no longer just book repositories, but places where the public can use computer terminals and WiFi, find job-hunting resources, hold civic meetings and take advantage of children’s programs.
Paine helped lead a drive four years ago that landed a new 25,000-square-foot branch key to Alpharetta’s City Center development on Main Street. The city is donating 3 acres for the building.
Alpharetta originally wasn’t in the running for a new library, Paine said. But public outcry to replace the current 10,000-square-foot branch on Canton Street persuaded library officials to add the city to the list.
Linda Statham, a Friends of the Alpharetta Library board member, said the new building is vital to the city's 57,000 residents.
"The Alpharetta Library is the fifth- and sometimes fourth-busiest library within the 34- library system in regard to circulation numbers, and yet we remain a small-sized branch," Statham said.
Roswell residents are just as eager for their new branch, to be built most likely on city-donated land at Fouts and Holcomb Bridge roads to better serve residents east of Ga. 400.
Patrons at the city's library on Norcross Street, like Karen Beardon, are optimistic the new branch will have enough funding to operate.
"Even without the economic troubles, you've got to be able to staff it to be able to run it," said Beardon, president of the Friends of the Roswell Library.
Troubles have already hit neighboring library systems.
Last month, a midyear budget cut of 5 percent caused Cobb County to reduce operations by two hours a day at most of its 17 branches. Gwinnett this year cut library funding by $2.8 million, or 15 percent of its budget. Library Director Nancy Stanbery-Kellam said she expects all 15 branches to close at least one day a week later this year.
DeKalb County, which is opening its first branch in 20 years this weekend at Stonecrest Mall, has reduced hours at all facilities to meet budget cuts.
After the new construction and expansions, Fulton will continue to operate 34 libraries, but total square footage will grow by more than 131,000, requiring more staff.
Bond funds cover one-time costs, such as planning, construction and furnishings, but not operating expenses. Commissioners in 2008 asked Szabo how much more he would need to run the new and expanded libraries. His answer was -- and still is -- about $8 million per year.
Szabo said most of that is for salaries, but it's too early to say how many new employees he will need. The Atlanta-Fulton system already uses about 2,400 volunteers and may need more.
Talk of adding staff comes at a time when its shrinking tax digest means Fulton could be facing a $100 million budget shortfall in 2012. The county has a hiring freeze in place, and there's been talk of a tax increase.
County Manager Zachary Williams said funding the new libraries will be taken up next summer, during the 2013 budget process.
Hausmann, who represents north Fulton, said her district would resist doing anything but plowing forward. Williams has assured her the operating money will be found.
"If you're asking me to look into the crystal ball and say where we're going to be in 2013," she said, "I can't do that."
New libraries, bigger libraries
The first phase of Atlanta-Fulton County’s 10-year, $275 million library construction program will build eight libraries and expand two for a combined $167 million. The new branches will begin opening in 2013.
New libraries:
Alpharetta
Square footage: 25,000
Location: The city has offered property at Main Street and Haynes Bridge Road.
East Roswell
Square footage: 15,000
Location: On city-donated property at Fouts and Holcomb Bridge roads
Milton
Square footage: 25,000
Location: Undetermined
Northwest Atlanta
Square footage: 25,000
Location: Undetermined
Palmetto
Square footage: 10,000
Location: On city-donated property adjacent to its public safety building along Palmetto Cascade Highway
Southeast Atlanta
Square footage: 15,000
Location: Undetermined
Stewart-Lakewood
Square footage: 25,000
Location: Undetermined
Wolf Creek
Square footage: 25,000
Location: On county-owned property near the Wolf Creek Amphitheater on Merk Road. The precise location is undetermined.
Expanded libraries:
Auburn Avenue Research
Square footage: Currently 50,000. Extent of expansion undetermined
Location: 101 Auburn Ave., downtown Atlanta
South Fulton
Square footage: Expanding from 15,000 to 25,000
Location: 4055 Flat Shoals Road, Union City
Note: No library locations are official until the Fulton County Commission votes to approve them.
About the Author
