The Top Ten True Facts About Beaumont Library District's Measure M

COMMUNITY MEMBER POST:

As the saying goes, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.”

A lot of so-called “facts” have been tossed around by various individuals about Beaumont Library District's Measure M that are just not true.

As another saying goes, “Haters gonna hate,” and facts really do not matter to those people, but fair-minded folks should want to know the true facts about Measure M before voting this year.

To clear up the many misconceptions that have been bandied about in recent days, here are the Top Ten True Facts About Beaumont Library District's Measure M:

10. Beaumont Library District has never had seismic improvements to its building since our historic Carnegie Library was constructed in 1914, and certainly none were paid for by the City of Beaumont, which has not contributed to the Library in this regard. Measure M, combined with a recent infrastructure grant, would finally allow earthquake retrofitting to take place.

9. Beaumont Library District paid for its elevator, which basically serves the Children’s side of the building, with a state grant in the early 2000’s and none of the money came from the City of Beaumont. Measure M would allow for a brand new, centrally located elevator providing better accessibility to all.

8. Beaumont Library District has never received “development” money from the impact fees charged for each of the thousands of homes built over the past decades. Collection of such fees would have required approval from the City of Beaumont, which has continuously declined to give such approval up to the current date. As a result, Measure M is needed to allow the Library to better serve the more than 62,000 district residents--ten times the number that lived here when the last and only expansion took place 57 years ago.

7. Beaumont Library District has never been offered property or financing from the City of Beaumont, from property developers, or from corporations over the years. Measure M would allow the Library to build on its own property, which is already bought and paid for.

6. Beaumont Library District has not had a “windfall” of property tax funding from new development because in 2012 Riverside County’s Local Area Formation Commission took away the bulk of its eastern territory and gave it to the Banning Library, as well as a bulk of its western territory that was given to Riverside County. This resulted in a $500,000 annual loss of funding and has made Measure M absolutely necessary.

5. Beaumont Library District’s current location is perfectly suited for a renovation and expansion because it is at the geographic center of the Beaumont and Cherry Valley communities and would preserve the last remaining Carnegie Library in the county. Measure M would help to enhance and anchor the old “downtown” area and would provide adequate parking for library users.

4. Beaumont Library District has an elected Board of Trustees, all of whom are unpaid volunteers and are Beaumont and Cherry Valley homeowners or lifelong residents. After over a decade of planning with continuous input from community members and a local steering committee, they made the decision to place Measure M on the ballot now because a library upgrade is much needed and long overdue and waiting would only increase the price tag with rising construction costs.

3. Beaumont Library District is not a part of the City of Beaumont, but has been a special library district since 1911, pre-dating the incorporation of the City. The Library District encompasses a 60-square-mile area comprised of Beaumont and Cherry Valley and receives 99% of its income from a low property tax rate. Measure M would supplement that income for a 25 to 30-year period and those proceeds could only be used for the expansion project and not for salaries.

2. Beaumont Library District’s local income is not high when compared to other public libraries across the state of California. For the fiscal year ending in June 2021, our local support was in the bottom 36% of all public libraries in the state, a full 10% lower than that received by the Banning Library. Measure M would make up for the declining pace of local tax support, but could only be used to complete the building plans and not for operational purposes.

1. Beaumont Library District’s plan is for the approval of general obligation bonds that would be issued, as needed, over time and would be supplemented by a recent $4.8 million infrastructure grant awarded by the State Library, which might lessen the overall funding need. Even if all the Measure M bonds were issued, the cost would be just $9.70 per $100,000 in assessed value or about 80 cents a month--less than a 1% increase to property tax bills!

November 8 is just a few days away. Remember to vote!