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LWV League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Smart Voter
Los Angeles County, CA March 6, 2007 Election
Measure Monrovia-L
Library Construction
City of Monrovia

Parcel Tax - 2/3 Majority Approval Required

Pass: 2,751 / 69.5% Yes votes ...... 1210 / 30.5% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

Information shown below: Official Information | Impartial Analysis | Arguments |

Shall an ordinance be adopted to rebuild the small and outdated Monrovia Public Library at its current site according to new earthquake, fire safety, energy efficiency and handicapped accessibility standards, with expanded children's reading areas, upgraded computer technology, new study rooms for students and quiet reading areas, by imposing a special parcel tax with expenditures subject to annual independent audits and no expenditures for administrator's salaries? ¿Debería ser adoptada una ordenanza para reconstruir la pequeña y anticuada Biblioteca Pública de Monrovia en su corriente sitio en conformidad con las nuevas normas de protección contra terremotos, seguridad contra incendio, efi ciencia de energía y accesibilidad para personas incapacitadas, con la expansión de las áreas de lectura para los niños, mejoramiento en la tecnología de computación, nuevos salones de estudios para los estudiantes y áreas silenciosas de lectura, por medio de la imposición de un impuesto especial sobre parcelas con los gastos sujetos a auditorías independientes anuales y que ningunos de los gastos serán usados para el sueldo del administrador?

Official Sources of Information
Impartial Analysis from City Attorney Craig A. Steele
Measure L would raise revenue to pay for the design, construction and furnishing of a new Monrovia Public Library to replace the current outdated structure. The current Monrovia Public Library building in Library Park is approximately 50-years old. The City's staff has reported that the current building is too small and lacks the technology infrastructure to meet current and future needs. The City Council has conceptually approved a floor plan and exterior rendering for the new Monrovia Library.

If approved by 2/3 of the City's voters, Measure L would impose a special tax on all parcels of real property in the City. The annual tax rates would be $62 per parcel for single-family residences, $46 per unit for multi-family properties, $8 per space for mobile home parks, 2.9 cents per square foot of building for commercial and industrial properties and $17 per acre for vacant land. The tax would be collected each year on the annual property tax bill.

The revenue raised by Measure L could be used only for the design, construction and furnishing of the new Library, including the cost of financing the project. This revenue could not be spent for salaries or any administrative cost for the library. The law requires that revenues from Measure L be placed in a separate fund, subject to an independent audit each year with the results of the audit reported to the public. The tax would be collected only for the time necessary to repay any money the City might borrow for the new library project or 30 years, whichever occurs earlier, and would automatically sunset at that time.

The City Council could not extend the duration of the tax or increase the amount of the tax without a 2/3 vote of the people. Certain properties would be exempt from paying the tax, including government property, property exempt from taxes under State or federal law, and properties owned by low-income senior citizens and disabled people who apply to the City for an exemption.

A "Yes" vote on Measure L favors imposing the parcel tax to pay for the new Monrovia Library. A "No" vote opposes it.

  Official Information

City of Monrovia
Local Facts

City Profile
Organization in Favor

Yes on Measure "TBD" Committee
News and Analysis

San Marino Tribune

KGEM Video Interview Google News Search
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Arguments For Measure Monrovia-L
Vote YES on Measure L to give Monrovia the new Public Library it both needs and deserves. Monrovia's current Library building has served the community well for 50 years, but it has long since become obsolete + too small by half for today's population and in need of constant repair. It lacks both room and infrastructure for needed public computers; suffi cient shelf space for books, periodicals, DVDs and tapes; adequate seating; effective work areas and such necessities as decent public restrooms and reliable, working air conditioning and heating systems.

Over the years the Library has been enlarged and reorganized to its structural limits; its aging systems repaired so often they can no longer handle the job. Built for just 50,000 volumes, it is inadequate to handle the 120,000 books in today's collection, with little room for periodicals or other media.

Yet the demand for Library services here is large and growing. Well over 100,000 items are circulated each year and many more requests for materials are made than can be accommodated in the limited space available. Last year alone, 3,000 new computer users registered to use the Library's few workstations, 25,000 reference-related questions were answered by staff and, this summer, 3,000 young readers devoured 55,000 books!

Measure L will cost residents just $62 per year, never a penny more, and will build a modern facility twice the current size, capable of handing today's and tomorrow's technology, designed to maximize effi cient and comfortable use in an impressive and appropriate building.

For just $5.17 per month, the equivalent of two tall lattes, Monrovians can have the new Library they have been seeking for more than a decade. We strongly urge a YES vote on Measure L.

Rob Hammond
Mary Ann Lutz
Tom Adams
Joe Garcia
Daniel J. Kirby

(No arguments against Measure Monrovia-L were submitted)


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Created: May 3, 2007 07:53 PDT
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