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Contra Costa County Libraries
Win Big in Budget Windfall

In California, Contra Costa County supervisors voted unanimously August 10 to give $500,000 to the county library system to buy badly needed materials and equipment. The library is one of the beneficiaries of a one-time $2.2-million windfall given to the county by the state to help make up for the millions the county lost during state budget-balancing actions since 1992.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported August 11 that the library system had been hit hard by the revenue loss, reducing hours at most branches to 29 per week and ranking last among 37 Bay Area systems in per-resident spending. Supervisors are considering a March 2000 ballot measure that would impose a one-eighth-of-a-cent sales tax increase to boost the library budget, which needs an estimated $8 million to raise services to the area average, the newspaper said.

The other big budget winner was the county mental health services, which gained $450,000 for a new residential treatment facility for mentally ill patients and $300,000 for substance abuse programs for young people.

Posted August 16, 1999.

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