By Gus Thomson, Auburn Journal

More self-check-out machines, greater reliance on volunteers and a closer look at potential grants are some of the ways Placer County library is attempting to trim an expected deficit in the coming year.

The 11-library system has been hit hard by the drop in property values in Placer County, which play an important role in the amount of property tax payments it receives for everything from book purchases to librarian salaries to new computers.

The Placer County Board of Supervisors heard a report Tuesday from the County Executive Office library analyst Ronald Baker Sr. on the anticipated deficit in revenue the Library Services Department is facing and some of the ways it is dealing with the drop in funding.

Baker reported that over the past three years, property-tax dollars have decreased 10.5 percent – or $421,000 annually.

And property-tax revenue is projected to be flat for the coming 2012-13 fiscal year, Baker said.

“The situation frankly hasn’t improved in the last year,” Baker said. “We have wonderful facilities that communities care deeply about.”

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