Clayton Library – and its volunteers – gear up for 25th ­anniversary

The Clayton Library was the first library in Contra Costa County that allowed volunteers to perform many of the necessary tasks.

Although the city owns the library building, it is unlikely we would have a library in our town without the original volunteers and community organizers.

Today, volunteers contribute more than 5,000 hours annually and help keep this amazing community asset available to all of us. The minimum age for volunteers is 13, and the library is always looking for additional volunteers of all ages.

The Clayton Community Library Foundation (CCLF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity that is like a parent faculty club in many schools, helping fill funding gaps and organize additional programs. In 2018, CCLF funded 32 additional programs that 800 people attended, and the group provided money to build new shelves and augment the county library materials budget. To date, CCLF has raised more than $250,000 for books, electronics, furniture and programs.

Leading up to the 25th birthday on March 7, 2020, CCLF will help us celebrate the library’s years of service to the community. CCLF is also looking to increase its membership and to get new people involved in maintaining and supplementing the wonderful programs and services the library provides.

I recently submitted my membership application, at a mere $10 per year, and encourage residents to join CCLF and/or volunteer time at the Clayton Library. For more info, see claytonlibrary.org

Balanced city budget

The City Council approved a Fiscal Year 2019-’20 budget and a five-year Capital Improvement Program budget. The city’s operational budget for FY ’19-’20 is about $4.77 million, and the city maintains a healthy reserve of about 1.16 times the proposed General Fund ­expenditures. Thank you to city manager Gary Napper and finance manager Kevin Mizuno for their professional leadership in helping the city maintain a balanced General Fund budget, without any reductions in public services.

Sewer rate increase

The council recently approved a sewer rate increase of $45 a year per residential household for the next four years, starting in FY 2020, in order to cover increased operational and maintenance costs. Although the city owns the sewer system, we have contracted the operational and maintenance services with the city of Concord since 1966. Without the household rate increase, funding the rate increase already approved by the city of Concord for increased operational and maintenance costs would have become the city’s obligation. Given Clayton’s relatively small budget, it is not possible for the city to absorb such costs without impacting the public services we provide.

Mayor’s office hours: Stop by to chat 9-10 a.m. Saturday, June 22, at the Clayton Farmers Market (in the KinderCare parking lot).

Contact the Mayor at ­tcatalano@ci.clayton.ca.us. For more updates, follow her at www.facebook.com/CouncilmemberTuijaCatalano.

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