The Los Angeles City Council agreed Tuesday to add a measure to the March 8 ballot that would restore the previously cut funding for the city’s libraries.

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The new measure would amend the city charter to give the Library Department a greater share of property tax revenue. If passed, the libraries share would increase from 0.0175 to 0.03 over the next three years.

During the budget crisis, the city’s 73 libraries suffered some of the largest cuts. Over 100 librarians and other staff members were laid off and for the first time in history, the libraries service was cut from six days a week to five.

Councilman Bernard Parks, a former police chief, proposed the measure, saying “libraries are probably our best crime prevention dollars.” Parks credits the libraries after-school programs and tutorials for keeping kids out of the criminal justice system.

City Council President Eric Garcetti agreed, saying, “Libraries are a proven and cost-effective way to improve our economy and keep our youth on the right track, and this measure supports libraries with no increased costs to the taxpayers.”

City Librarian Martin Gomez said the measure, if approved, would restore the libraries budget to 2009-2010 levels, which would be enough to keep all of the libraries open at least six days a week and four nights a week. Nine locations would also be open on Sunday. Gomez also said the measure would give the libraries an increase of about $50 million a year, enough to make them fully operational again.

Not everyone thinks the measure is a good move so early in the city’s recovery.

United Firefighters of Los Angeles City President Pat McOsker told the council, “We don’t ask you to set aside a chunk of money for us (firefighters) to the exclusion of everybody else, and we would ask you not to do that in the case of the libraries.”

The City Council considers restoring the libraries funding to be a priority, but it’s the public who will ultimately decide on March 8.

Reach reporter Andria Kowalchik here.