Los Angeles Passes Library-Focused Charter Amendment

By Maryann Yin 

Los Angeles citizens have passed charter amendment Measure L with 63 percent of the vote–helping the 72-branch library system recover from steep budget cuts in recent years.

Here’s more from Library Journal: “The charter mandates that the library receive .0175 percent of the assessed value of all property in the city. Measure L will, over the next four years, increase that percentage to .03 percent. The library projects that this will translate to $130 million four years from now”

Do you think this kind of bill could work in other cities? The measure will help cut the library loose from the city’s general fund, making the library system responsible for new costs like “custodial services, security services, employee benefits.”