This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Late fees are proposed to go up and down in the Salt Lake County Library system.
They'll go down for overdue DVDs and CDs but up for books returned late under a library plan that will be the subject of a public hearing at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the North Building at the County Government Center, 2001 S. State.
If approved after that by the County Council, the fine for all late materials will be 25 cents a day starting Jan. 1.
"Bottom line, we want to make it simple for the patrons," said Library Executive Director Jim Cooper. "They'll know that, 'If I'm late with returning my materials, whether audiovisual or printed, it's going to cost me a quarter.'"
Late fees have not been changed for close to 20 years, he said, back to a time when record albums were still a main mode of listening to music and DVDs were coming into vogue.
To make sure customers returned those items, DVDs in particular, the library charged a late fee of $1-a-day. For overdue books, it was 15 cents.
"As DVDs became less popular with movie streaming and downloading available," Cooper said, "we didn't feel it was appropriate any longer to have such a large penalty for being late one day."
The library staff reviewed the fine structure earlier this year, and the library board approved it in June, he said.
While there were questions about whether the fee changes required council approval, county attorneys decided the council should hold a public hearing before proceeding with the plan, which is basically revenue neutral for the county. The library expects to collect an extra $50,000 from the change, Cooper said.
Council members expressed no concerns with the plan at their Tuesday meeting.
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Winder endorsement
The Salt Lake Valley Law Enforcement Association, the largest organization of police officers and deputies in the county, is supporting Sheriff Jim Winder in his re-election campaign.
In a vote last week, 78 percent of participating association members backed the Democratic incumbent against 22 percent for his Republican rival, Jake Petersen, a lieutenant in the Unified Police Department.
The association is a lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents 2,500 police officers in Utah, 330,000 nationwide.