The Santa Cruz Public Libraries Joint Powers Authority board approved a budget for the new fiscal year at a meeting on Monday. The unanimously approved budget provides $11.5 million for the year beginning July 1st. It is anticipated that 2/3 of the budget will be spent on personnel next year, up nearly a million dollars from last year. This will allow the library system to re-hire some of the staff that were laid off in December. In addition, 8 of the 10 libraries in the system will extend their hours between 4 and 6 hours a week.
