although I would far prefer my tax dollars support the libraries rather than most of the other things it's supporting, I am old enough to remember when we had this "fight" about the RAD tax, which was supposed to support the libraries among other Allegheny institutions. It was a big fight, but in the end the RAD folks won, and perhaps rightly so. However, that extra 1% was supposed to fix the problem pretty much permanently, or so it was touted at the time.
So how come the RAD tax isn't sufficient to support the libraries now? Where's that money going, and if the libraries aren't getting their fair share of it, why not?
if you look at that document, it shows the library getting 18 million. seems like enough, but according the the RAND analysis, the total income of the library falls far short of what's needed for the library.
Also, 17%, or 14.2 million, is going towards the stadiums, convention center, and arena. the second biggest line item listed.
I am a property owner in the city of Pittsburgh and I will vote for the tax.
Pittsburgh's unique history gives it a collection of cultural institutions that most cities of this size cannot dream of having. That is a privilege, and it behooves us to support it. Anyone who votes against this is a short-sighted fool.
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So how come the RAD tax isn't sufficient to support the libraries now? Where's that money going, and if the libraries aren't getting their fair share of it, why not?
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http://www.radworkshere.org/docs/funding_history_through_2011_totalweb.pdf
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if you look at that document, it shows the library getting 18 million. seems like enough, but according the the RAND analysis, the total income of the library falls far short of what's needed for the library.
Also, 17%, or 14.2 million, is going towards the stadiums, convention center, and arena. the second biggest line item listed.
the RAND study is here
http://www.carnegielibrary.org/about/future/background/PublicPrivateTaskForceReport1-20-2011.pdf
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Allegheny County Regional Parks $ 17,860,200
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh $ 18,490,600
then you have
SEA-Regional Destination Financing Plan
(Convention Ctr., Heinz Field, PNC Park) $ 13,400,000
SEA- Arena Debt Service $ 893,000
(for a total of) $ 14,293,00
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Pittsburgh's unique history gives it a collection of cultural institutions that most cities of this size cannot dream of having. That is a privilege, and it behooves us to support it. Anyone who votes against this is a short-sighted fool.
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Well, that sure persuaded me!
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