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Our View: Waiting for someone else to step up ... Council considers end to prohibition in city parks ... Missing Ashland teenager reportedly spotted near Dunsmuir ... Our View: Waiting for someone else to step up ... Council considers end to prohibition in city parks ... JACKSON COUNTY Library hours boosted Medford branch will get 40 a week By Damian Mann Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 14, 2014 @ 12:01 am By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 14, 2014 @ 12:01 am --> Hours per week at Jackson County's 15 libraries Branch;Current hours;New hours Medford;24;40 Butte Falls;8;10 Prospect;8;12 Gold Hill;16;18 Shady Cove;16;18 ... » Read more X Hours per week at Jackson County's 15 libraries Branch;Current hours;New hours Medford;24;40 Butte Falls;8;10 Prospect;8;12 Gold Hill;16;18 Shady Cove;16;18 Applegate;12;18 Eagle Point;24;28 Ruch;16;18 Phoenix;16;22 Jacksonville;20;22 Central Point;24;36 Ashland;40;40 Rogue River;28;28 Talent;36;36 White City;22;22 Source: Jackson County Library District » Social News Most libraries in Jackson County will open for additional hours in January, and the Medford branch will be open 40 hours a week instead of 24. Central Point will be open an extra 12 hours a week, Eagle Point will get four more hours, and Applegate will add six hours. All but four of Jackson County's 15 library branches will receive additional hours. Ashland’s 40 hours will remain the same. Talent will continue to have 36 hours, Rogue River will stay at 28, and White City will continue to have 22 hours. The Medford library’s hours were sharply curtailed after the entire library system shut down for six months in 2007 because of severe budget problems in Jackson County. Prior to the closure, the Medford library was open 46 hours a week. A newly formed Jackson County Library District discovered it would cost $284,000 for the expanded hours instead of $500,000 as earlier thought. Also, the library district will receive more money than expected in its first year of collecting property taxes. According to the Jackson County Assessor's Office, the library district should be due $9.06 million in tax revenues this November. Jill Turner, library board president, said the tax revenue should result in an additional $394,000 for the library district. “This additional money, plus being careful, might allow us not to borrow money next year,” Turner said. The library district worried that it would have to borrow $893,000 for a short-term loan sometime next year because it is paying for a full year of libraries plus an additional five months. Turner said the extra tax revenue and savings for the extra hours could go a long way to helping avoid a short-term loan. Turner said the library district is also looking at securing some outside dollars that could pay for capital improvements. The county essentially has lent the library district $2.2 million to continue to operate until property tax revenues are received. Property owners pay 52 cents per $1,000 in assessed value toward the library district. On a house with a $150,000 assessed valuation, the owner would pay $78 annually for libraries. Jackson County commissioners on Monday officially ended their financial support for the library system after it was taken over by a special district approved by voters in May. The county still owns the library buildings, but county officials have indicated the buildings would be turned over to the library district after a bond measure is paid off in 2020. The financial health of the libraries and the Jackson County Extension Service have improved markedly since voters approved special funding for the agencies. Commissioner John Rachor said the county is looking at a roughly $1 million budget hole rather than close to $7 million expected prior to the changes. Rachor said the budget hole is much more manageable now, particularly compared to other cash-strapped counties such as Curry and Josephine. “The county finances are rock solid right now,” Rachor said. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or email [email protected]. Follow on Twitter at @reporterdm.   By Damian Mann Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 14, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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