Mid-Year City Budget Reduction Results

June 14, 2010 by 2 Comments

With a projected $11.7 million mid-year general fund shortfall forecast back in April, the City of Seattle decided to do a little budget trimming. The results were released today.  You can check out the presentation to the Seattle City Council Budget Committee here (PDF).

Here’s a bit of a summary, with a little emphasis on NE Seattle:

  • No reductions in Fire (“In light of tragic events over the weekend,” full review of safety implications due to cuts is requested)
  • Parks: No pools or community centers closed; wading pools partially closed
    • Ravenna Wading Pool closed for the year due to cuts
    • Dahl Wading Pool to open only three days a week, due to cuts
  • Library funding reduced by 2.4%, but current hours kept for all branches
  • Layoffs of 53.2 FTEs (full-time equivalents) included only 13 filled positions (remaining 43.9 FTEs are vacant).
  • SDOT has its own internal 2010 shortfall of $6.6 million; total SDOT shortfall (adding its share of the general fund shortfall) is $7.8 million.
  • ‘Rainy Day’ fund is down to $10 million (from $30 million at the beginning of 2009)
  • Mid-year changes should capture $12.4 million; the extra $700,000 will go toward filling the gaping maw that is the 2011 shortfall.

There is still a $50 million general fund shortfall forecast for 2011. Projected reductions proposed for general fund departments look like this:

  • Police and Fire – 1-5%
  • Human Services – 5-10%
  • Other agencies – 9.5-14.5%

And we were crying over wading pools?

Filed Under: Seattle Public Library

Story Time Love Post

May 18, 2010 by 2 Comments

This week marks the end of story time at the Northeast Branch until mid-June. A month doesn’t seem like that long of a break, but it IS for two reasons:

1.  My toddler has no sense of time (a day and a half is, like, FOREVER).

2. Erica Delavan, the Children’s Services Librarian, is GREAT.

My tot and I regularly frequent the 11:15 a.m. Toddler Story Time on Thursdays. And we end up regularly sharing the meeting room with upwards of 70 other people (mix of adults and other tots).

That’s 70+ kids and adults (140+ total, if you include the 10:15 a.m. shift) all moving and talking and crying and cooing, while Erica guides us all through a familiar itinerary (including two stories and a new song with a shared theme, the early literacy skill and letter of the day, a story on the felt board, old and familiar songs to open and close the story time, and a stamp on the hand at the end), and does it WELL.

So it was a special treat to attend last month’s very first Pajama Story Time (start time of 7 p.m.) with only 35 other people.

Only 35 of us! We could hear the stories! Clearly! There was room to sprawl and dance! And, it turns out, Erica can really sing!

We sang the Bears in the Bed song (…so they all rolled over and one fell out…there were four in the bed and the little one said, “I’m crowded…roll over…”) and that’s when I realized, this woman can sing!  I’d never really heard her voice before, over all the moving and talking and crying and cooing. She even had this bluesy take on the song that really added something.

And, lucky for you, dear reader, there’s one of these PJ story times left: This Wednesday, May 19, at 7 p.m. The dress code? Comfy PJs. Feet optional.

Just don’t bring too many of your friends, okay?

Northeast Branch – Seattle Public Library, 6801 35th Ave. N.E.

Filed Under: Events, Kids, Seattle Public Library

Storytime is back!

March 4, 2010 by 1 Comment

Now that the February is over, Storytime is finally back at the Northeast Branch of the library.  Huzzah!

The master list is here, largely the same as it’s been in the past. But there are a few new dates I want to highlight (descriptions from the website):

  • Family Story Time – Early learning activities with books, music and movement for parents, care givers and a wider age-range of children.  Wednesdays, March 10,  April 7 and May 5 from 4-4:30pm. And Saturdays, March 20 and May 15, 10:30-11am.
  • Pajama Story Time – All ages are welcome for stories, songs, dances and more. The children’s librarian will be wearing her pajamas. You can wear yours, too! Wednesdays, April 21 and May 19, 7-7:30pm.

I can’t thank the library gods enough for ADDING hours to our branch of the library, versus taking them away.

UPDATE: Talked to the Northeast Branch’s children’s librarian today. Time on the library website was incorrect for Pajama Story Time. 7pm is correct.

Filed Under: Kids, Seattle Public Library

Northeast Branch Re-Imagining

August 19, 2009 by 1 Comment

Have any holds at the Northeast Branch of the Seattle Public Library?  If so, you have until Sunday, August 22 to pick them up.

As of Monday, August 23, the branch will be closed…until early October. No no, not just closed Labor Day week like the rest of ’em (for fiscal and BBQ reasons), but for MUCH. LONGER.

But FEAR NOT!  The closure is for a good cause (or three):

  • The hold areas are being consolidated and expanded, and moved into the current Teen area.
  • The Teen area is being moved to the northern end of the branch. [Insert joke about teens here.]
  • Two more self-checkout stations are being added.

I first noticed the monstrous piles of materials on hold after last winter’s snows.  I just figured that the books were getting to the library, but patrons weren’t.  Turns out that this branch of a mere 15,000 square feet process more holds than nearly every other branch in the system.  The aforementioned switcheroo refurbishing will make room for all of that.

Yes, I’m sure that the library folks are aware that the branch underwent a doubling of size only five years ago, and now, here were are, already needing to close things down and rework it again. But I imagine that many of us were hitting the bookstores more back then, in the heady economy of the mid-2000s.  *sigh*

Your holds will be transferred to the Lake City Branch during the closure, unless you choose otherwise.  I’m going to switch to the Green Lake Branch and go for more walks.  Or just visit Chocolati a lot, to try and cope with the change. We’ll see.

Filed Under: Construction, Northeast Branch, Northeast Seattle, Open/Closed
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