As the city heads into budget discussions, a social media posts claims Godeke Library could close in October – two months from now – if the city does not renew a lease on the building at 5034 Frankford Avenue.
Councilman Tim Collins confirmed for LubbockLights.com that the lease comes up soon. The city confirmed the date is September 1 and there is a five-year extension up for consideration.
“This fiscal year, Godeke’s budget is $785,379,” Lauren Adams, a city spokesperson, said. That covers everything, not just the lease.
Collins is opposed to ending the lease and closing the library. Other councilmembers including Christy Martinez Garcia spoke in support of funding Lubbock’s libraries during a July 18 City Council meeting.
Mayor Mark McBrayer wants to hold the line on property tax revenue (if possible, using the so-called “no new revenue” tax rate) in the upcoming budget. His top spending priority is public safety such as police, fire department and animal control. After that comes infrastructure which includes roads. But it also includes major utilities such as water lines. Libraries fall lower on his list.
In that same meeting, City Manager Jarrett Atkison said the last time Lubbock held itself to the “no new revenue” rate, the result was job cuts (mostly unfilled positions). Even before holding the line on property taxes, the city was struggling with inflation. A new police SUV costs 43 percent more over the last five years. Concrete for road projects doubled in that same time frame.
There was a community effort to revive Godeke in 2009 after discovery of mold at 6601 Quaker Avenue forced its closure. The city rented space for Godeke temporarily at South Loop and Slide. Later the current site opened at the old Luskey’s Western Store on Frankford.
The social media post
The social media post came from former mayoral candidate Adam Hernandez who ran against McBrayer and others in the May 2024 election.
Hernandez cited stats in his post. We asked the city for its statistics and were told the following. The library:
- Had more than 86,000 visitors in the 21/22 budget year and was projected to have more than 96,000 in the 22/23 budget cycle. Godeke’s current target is 108,000.
- Employs five full-time staffers.
- Checked out nearly 206,000 books in 21/22.
- Projected more than 210,000 check-outs for 22/23. Godeke currently has a target of 245,000.
“It is the most popular library branch in Lubbock,” Hernandez said.
That’s true of the three branches. The main library, Mahon, is the busiest according to city records.
Godeke’s current target for giving people online access in its computer lab is more than 8,600.
“These community members rely on this service for things like job applications, resume creation and printing, online coursework and applying for benefits and resources they need,” Hernandez added.
Asking what’s next
The City Council has budget workshops Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. That’s when Council members could ask questions. Then the Council meets on August 13. The lease might come up at that time or later in the month.
Collins did not know how much the new lease would cost. Hernandez cited a figure in his post but LubbockLights.com was not able to confirm it.
Until the Council adopts a tax rate and Atkinson presents a proposed budget, it’s hard to say what’s next.
Slideshow: Godeke Branch Library
Looking for hints
The point of the July 18 Council meeting was to set priorities. There was agreement on public safety as number one and roads were also a high priority.
No one spoke against parks or libraries, but the mayor made it clear, if there are going to be budget cuts, they need to come from less essential areas.
“Priorities really mean making choices about what needs to have a priority over other areas,” he said.
“We’ve identified a lot of areas from public safety, public health, fiscal discipline, redevelopment … parks [and] libraries where we want to see different things accomplished in our city. … For me, public safety is the most important issue that we face,” he said.
Martinez-Garcia said, “I want to make sure that our libraries are well-maintained.”
Collins mentioned libraries briefly at the meeting within the context of maintaining city facilities. He disagrees with the mayor’s desire to use the “no new revenue” rate because he thinks it will lead to a big tax hike in the next budget cycle. And it likely means budget cuts this year.
“Certainly, there’s going to be some parts of our community that don’t find their needs met,” Collins said.
Councilman David Glasheen did not say one way or the other how he feels about libraries. He agreed with the mayor about holding the line for property taxes.
“We haven’t discussed specific spending targets yet, but I would like to see a budget that comes in at or below the ‘no new revenue’ rate. I think especially, the consensus I hear from citizens is the current property taxes are too high. Unsustainably high,” Glasheen said.
McBrayer said he’s not always going to want hold down the tax rate. But this year has been hard for many homeowners because of inflation – the same inflation squeezing the city’s budget.
“I’m not saying we never look for the needs of our city because I want this city to grow, and I want it to be maintained. But we don’t do that in a vacuum. We do it with an awareness of the conditions on the ground,” McBrayer said.
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