Facing the impending expiration of a tax that helped fund the libraries of Santa Clara County for 10 years, the Joint Powers Authority Board of Santa Clara County on Jan. 27 unanimously passed a resolution to bring another parcel tax measure to the voters. This time it will be in the form of mail-in ballot delivered to households in May.

During the meeting the Joint Powers Authority decided to approve two separate measures. The first measure will ask voters to renew the existing parcel tax, which is $33.66 per year, for ten years. The second measure will ask for an increase of $12 annually to restore hours of operations, the size of library collections and access to programs and services. The two measures combined would total $45.66 per year per parcel of land. The second measure, however, can only pass if the first measure passes. And it will still require a two-thirds voter approval--a super majority--for both measures to pass.

"If the first one passes, we'll be able to keep the same hours we have now," Cupertino Librarian Mary Ann Wallace said. "If the second one passes, it'll just be an additional $1 a month [to the taxpayer], and we'll be able to restore service on Mondays."

Santa Clara County Librarian Melinda Cervantes expressed similar concerns with the system's budget.

A recently completed five-year financial forecast looked at revenue-versus-expenses numbers, Cervantes said. The forecast indicated that if the parcel tax in Measure A is not renewed, county libraries will face a $5.8 million deficit in 2006.

"We can't survive with that kind of deficit," Cervantes said. By contrast, at the end of fiscal year 2004-05, the library system was expected to have a budget surplus of $300,000.

Initial polling numbers look positive.

"I don't like to speculate on its chances of passing," Cervantes said. "But I can tell you that a polling survey was done and it elicited what looked like an 81 percent approval rate for the flat renewal."

Even so, she added, "We don't want to count our chicks before they're hatched."

Cupertino City Councilwoman Dolly Sandoval is co-chair of the county-wide effort to pass the taxes. "Cupertino has that beautiful new library, and people were very depressed that it was closed for weeks," she said. "I've heard from a lot of people who want to volunteer, and I've already spoken to a number of school groups since students and kids are often the actual library users."

Campaign staffers will be calling voters for support and walking through local precincts. Sandoval added that this effort will be tricky because the vote is happening entirely through the mail. "It adds a layer of challenge," she said. "These two items are the only things on the ballot, and we hope that we can get people to vote for the measures and put their ballot in the mail the next day."

The Santa Clara County library system, which garnered national recognition for its well-run libraries through its strong collection of materials and long operating hours, was hard hit by the increased shifting of local dollars to the state that began in the early 1990s.

In 1994, however, the passage of Measure A helped to alleviate some of the library's budgetary stress by levying a parcel tax on residential and nonresidential property owners in the county. However, that measure is set to expire in June 2005.

In 2004, the Joint Powers Authority hoped to get two-thirds voter approval in a March election for Measure B. That parcel tax, however, narrowly failed unable to garner the required votes to pass.

For more information about local election committees, visit www.savesccl.org or email Dolly Sandoval at dolly@dollysandoval.com.

Staff writer Allison Rost contributed to this article.