Kelly Kenoyer
City Manager Ray Towry said last week that, due to increases in tax revenues received by the city, he has revoked the furlough notice he sent to three part-time staff at the Sweet Home Library in mid-November.
The notices were originally drafted in response to low revenues from property taxes, he said, but the financial picture is looking significantly better, making the furloughs unnecessary at this time.
November is typically the month that brings in the most tax revenue for the city in the entire year. Towry said the numbers for the month started very low, which caused him to “panic.”
The second week of November, for instance, was 63 percent lower than 2019, he said.
However, the fourth and fifth weeks of November were both higher than 2019, and the tax revenues for the month ended up 7.1 percent higher than last year.
Library Director Rose Peda said morale is up at the library now that the furloughs have been rescinded.
“We opened this morning by appointment only, and we’ve been busy ever since we’ve opened,” she said Dec. 3. “We’re limiting it to 10 patrons in the building at a time. So we encourage people to call us beforehand to make sure there’s room in the facility for them.”
Library staff hours are still reduced compared to the pre-pandemic hours, and Peda said the library won’t be permitted to open as much as it used to unless the statistics related to circulation improve.
Library patrons and board members have criticized the city manager for limiting the library’s hours, as it may be difficult to meet pre-pandemic circulation numbers without having pre-pandemic hours.
“Limiting hours is gonna limit circulation,” said Library Advisory Board Member Kevin Hill. “If somebody can’t make it to the library that would normally go, let’s say on a Saturday at a certain time, and they can’t get into the library, and they don’t like to use the computer, then wouldn’t that limit it?”
The library used to be open 36 hours per week, but its operating hours are now limited to 26. Most of the change comes from lost hours in the mornings on weekdays; the library used to open at 10 a.m., but now opens at noon.
The library closed because of the COVID freeze in late November, but is now open again for patrons. That in-person use allows for perusing, which may help increase circulation, as Peda has said many patrons prefer to look over the shelves themselves, rather than giving lists of check-outs to library staff. They often find additional materials they’d like to check out that way, as things catch their eye.
Regardless, the withdrawal of the furloughs has reduced some stress for local bibliophiles.
“I’ve been sleeping again,” Peda said.