Oakland Tribune: Despite Need for Libraries, Vote No on Measure N

(On Nov. 2, 2006 the Oakland Tribune urged readers to vote no on Measure N. Below are excerpts.)

In the past we have endorsed a myriad of tax measures to provide badly needed money to help maintain or repair local public schools, keep library branches open, hire more police officers, bolster violence-prevention programs, and improve roads and other infrastructure.

Now there is another bond proposal on the ballot, Measure N. If approved, it would raise property taxes in Oakland an average of $119 a year to build a new main library at the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, build two new branch libraries and improve all of Oakland's branch libraries.

As difficult as it is to say no to libraries, we can't endorse Measure N primarily because we believe property owners in Oakland are already shouldering a heavy burden of taxes, at a time when the economy is still struggling.

Although Measure N supporters says it would cost $8 million more to add two floors to the existing Main Library than to build four or five floors inside the Kaiser, we agree with critics who point out the estimated construction cost of $733 per square foot seems awfully expensive. We don't have a problem with an opulent looking library, as some critics do, since it would be a public building open to everyone in the city. But not if it costs twice the average for commercial construction.

Like just about everyone, we do believe Oaklanders deserve the best libraries possible, and would like to see other building options or funding proposals introduced and vetted in the coming years. Unfortunately, the timing for such an expensive endeavor just doesn't seem right. If people start moving out because they can't afford to live here, Oakland will have bigger problems than not having a sparkling new main library.