Library Tax

* Your editorial (May 8) regarding a special library tax in South Pasadena deserves rebuttal. While the state did reduce about $900,000 in funds over a two-year period, the city implemented new sources of revenue (taxes and fees) that greatly exceeded this shortfall: a 5% utility tax, a 54% minimum increase in water rates, a new street lighting and landscaping assessment district, and a substantial increase in fees. A conservative figure for the increased revenue would be $1.7 million per year.

Top pay in South Pasadena for the head librarian is $72,528. Librarians in neighboring cities receive much less.

The per capita expenditure for 30 municipal libraries in the Metropolitan System averages $30.80. South Pasadena spends $36.42--21% above the average. Do we need higher taxes or better management?

I am a founding member of the South Pasadena Taxpayers Assn. and a signatory on the ballot argument against the library tax.

ROBERT O. COOK

South Pasadena