Jax Council debates library budget, hours

The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee battled Friday morning with officials over the perpetually embattled Jacksonville Public Library budget.

The budget increases by 0.4% this year, yet the Council’s asks go well beyond that modest uptick.

Discussions included whether or not “merit pay” or “equity pay” was part of the proposed budget increases.

Councilman John Crescimbeni wondered if the “equity pay issue” was part of collective bargaining; Barbara Gubbin, representing the library, mentioned that someone had gotten brought in to make more than someone else at a higher salary, forcing a raise to the previously hired employee.

Crescimbeni observed that a “game” often played is using this strategy to lift salaries across the board.

Anna Brosche asked about increases in the budget for salaries; Gubbin mentioned that the increases have already happened.

The Councilwoman was not thrilled with that answer.

The question then turned to library hours; specifically, which libraries are open at night.

There is mixed performance in this regard. Given that there now is a shared initiative between JPL and the Duval County Schools related to getting students library cards, there is a need to increase nocturnal access to public libraries.

Councilman Reggie Gaffney is “concerned” about the hours, and asserts that closed libraries are impediments to education. Gubbin asserted that there is sufficient staff for the current hours. However, Gaffney mentioned that the current schedule allows for eight hour days, which is an issue because “parents work eight hours” and that abridges access.

Then, Councilman Tommy Hazouri spoke.

“When you have a Jacksonville Journey and money that may be available… the library… may be a good way to reach at-risk kids.”

However, there is a catch: the Urban Core libraries, closest to at-risk kids, are the least used.

“The library system is a resource center,” Hazouri continued, going beyond books.

“If education is going to be our foundation… we’ve got to make a statement” and restore library hours, for economic development and for quality of life.

“I would encourage you all not to let this go,” Hazouri said, looking at what can be done to drive participation in the “underutilized” Urban Core libraries.

Capital improvements were also a subject. Gubbin noted that there are four projects in the mayor’s budget, and the library system is deferring to the mayoral budget on this count.

Councilman John Crescimbeni noted that the limited capital improvement budget gives him “heartburn,” given that the $860K might be better used renovating children’s rooms at branch libraries than for “collaborative rooms” at the main library.

The Finance Committee passed a motion to that effect.

Several council members spoke with conviction about how hard the library board works, and how necessary extended hours are for the system.

“Libraries are the heart and mind of the city,” Hazouri said.

Councilman Danny Becton also supported the linkage of the library into the Jacksonville Journey structure.

As did Councilman Sam Newby.

“Our kids are the key to Jacksonville,” the At Large Republican said.

Staffing hours came up a second time, with Crescimbeni asking about why, on a support document, 2012 was used as the baseline year.

Gubbin replied that was the year when the budget cuts really impacted the quality of service the libraries could provide.

Crescimbeni is “concerned” that the current budget only allocates more hours to certain libraries, and on Mondays, many of them are closed, which of course impacts the children who might want to use them.

“If you want to restore all of the hours to the library system that we had before the cut, we would embrace that,” Gubbin said.

Pablo Creek, Southeast, Webb-Wesconnett, and West are proposed to have 14-18 more hours per week.

Meanwhile, urban core patrons can make their way to the Main Library, which is open seven days a week.

This wasn’t enough for Crescimbeni, who spotlighted the “lack of recognition of need” for struggling communities in the library’s priorities.

“It is our position that to get more people to the urban core libraries,” Gubbin said, early learning and literacy specialists doing outreach would drive activity in the neighborhood facilities.

“The city is facing big challenges, and none of these are reflected by [the proposed hours increase] on the sheet,” Crescimbeni asserted.

Not extending Northside library hours, adds Gaffney, “messes up the whole plan of the city.”

“You can perhaps cut back on one or two days, and add hours to a library in the Urban Core,” Gaffney said, instead of the proposed hours.

As well, “it’s easier in our communities… to have convenience,” rather than relying unduly on the Main Library.

“You’re a single mom, you’re working two jobs… somehow you’ve got to sell that single mom on bringing the children to that library… and get consistent about the usage,” observed Gulliford.

Councilwoman Brosche wondered if there have ever been uniform hours across the entire system; Gubbin answered in the negative on that.

Likewise, old-school outreach methods, like bookmobiles, were cut when the budget was eviscerated earlier in the decade.

Joyce Morgan, in discussing the older urban core libraries, exploded, saying that “these [outmoded] libraries are not even assets to their communities any more, and that’s a shame.”

The smallest of the Urban Core libraries is a mere 3200 square feet.

Hazouri observed that, in his almost three decades of dealing with budgets, libraries are always among the first to be cut.

Crescimbeni proposed adding more money to a “below the line” fund from sales tax for funding library hours; the motion was approved.