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Asotin County Library Levy Lid Lift
Asotin
County Library is asking the voters of Asotin County Library to approve a levy
lid lift at the February 9th special election.
The ballot will read as follows:
ASOTIN
COUNTY RURAL LIBRARY DISTRICT
Proposition
No. ___
Levy
for library operations and maintenance
This
proposition would enable the District to operate its community libraries and
maintain library services by restoring the District’s regular property tax
levy rate to $0.50 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for collection in 2011,
thus increasing the levy as allowed by chapter 84.55.0101 RCW.
Thereafter, such levy increase would be used to compute limitations for
subsequent years as allowed by chapter 84.55 RCW. Should this
proposition be approved:
Yes
No
Q- Why do the main library and Heights branch need more money?
A- We have faced multiple
years of declining levy rates due to lids imposed upon our annual tax levy.
The amount has declined from
$0.50 per $1,000 to $0.367 per $1,000. This translates to the loss of tens
of thousands of dollars needed to cover the costs of running our libraries.
A
- It will increase the library's levy rate of 36.7
cents per $1,000 by 13.3
cents per $1,000 to 50 cents per $1,000
which is what the law allows, enabling the library to maintain services,
facilities, and programs.
Q- What does that 13.3
cent increase mean to the average home owner's taxes?
A-
F A- For a $150,000
home, it would be an additional
$19.95 per year.
Q- Q- When did the libraries last get a raise or run a
levy?
A- The library is its own
taxing district and has never run an operations and maintenance levy before. In 2001,
voters in Washington modified state law to limit revenue increases to 1 percent
per year (plus revenues from new construction) no matter how much costs
increased. The costs of operating and maintaining the library have grown quickly.
One percent increase each year isn't covering costs.
Q- Why have the costs gone up?
A-
Expanded usage mainly. Heavy use drives up costs for
maintenance, books, magazines, programs, staff, utilities, computer contract
use, even though cost cutting measures have been undertaken. Dramatically more
people are using the facilities.
Q- Can
you track the usage?
A-
Yes.
In the past year:
·
People
have checked out 124,705 items;
·
10,118
people have their VALNet library cards through Asotin County Library
·
31,907
used our public access computers
·
They
searched our online databases 11,000 times and retrieved 12,726 articles.
·
8,634
people attended
287 library sponsored
events.
·
Economists
have theorized that in the last five years, the library has turned $2,082,441 of
tax revenue into a retail value of $17,560,583 which is an 846 % return on the
taxpayer investment.
Q- What has the library done to control costs?
A- A hiring freeze went into effect in September 2008. Library staff received a
1% pay increase in 2009 and no
raises in 2010. We have reduced staff hours, decreased magazine subscriptions by
29%, and decreased book and materials purchases by 39%. Programming for children and adults, staff
travel and training, and heating/cooling usage have all been decreased.
Q- Are there ways to increase income besides the
levy?
A- By state law, libraries cannot charge for services
that are unique to libraries and that have already been paid for by taxes. Currently,
94% of our income is from taxes. However, staff have increased grant
writing efforts for many heavily used assets such as computers ($28,600 in
2009-2010), an impaired reader machine, programming
($11,000 in 2009 for Everybody Reads), and staff training; Friends
of the Library hold book sales and
other fund raisers to increase their giving for children's events and
children's materials; a Foundation was created to solicit funds for needed
equipment and facilities; small charges have been instituted for fax services,
copying, meeting room use, overdue books, etc. We have rented out
part of our Heights lot for recycling bins.
A.
It won’t. Because the Library District is a separate entity from the County
and because it does not receive funds from the State, passage of the levy lid
lift will not diminish funds in other County or State agencies.
Q.-
How much will the library benefit financially from the new WalMart?
A. -
The library will receive approximately $4,037 in property taxes from the
new WalMart. The library is not funded through sales taxes, so we will not
receive a direct benefit from the increased sales.
Q- Will you need to run a levy every year?
A-
No. If
the levy passes, the new amounts should permit the library to maintain
operations for five years.
Over
the past five years, Asotin County Library turned $2,082,441 of local support
into resources and services with a retail value of $17,560,583—an 846% return
on investment for taxpayers!
Materials
Checked Out (676,999
items at $24) $
16,247,976
Internet
Services (38,692 hours
at $10)
$ 386,920
Database
Resources (127,988 searches at $5) $
639,940
Programs
& Events (40,821 participants at
$7)
$ 285,747
Total Value of Library Services $ 17,560,583
| Days open per year | 301 |
| Hours open per year | 4420 |
| Visits per year | 120,938 |
| # of registered borrowers | 10,118 |
| # of items in collection | 81,635 |
| # of items checked out | 124,705 |
| # of public access computers | 18 |
| # of public access computer users | 31,907 |
| Visits to ACL website | 75,974 |
| # of databases | 23 |
| # of database searches | 11,000 |
| # of database articles retrieved | 12,723 |
| Virtual reference transactions | 155 |
| # of programs | 287 |
| Program attendance | 8,634 |
| Summer Reading Program participants | 534 |
Adults
Everybody Reads
Book Night @ your library
Festival of Award Winning Films
Picture Perfect Children’s Books
Spanish Conversational Group
Teen Advisory Board
Teen Movie Night
Special Interest Programs (Food Fear Factor, Spa Night, sleepovers)
Tween Tuesdays
Monday Movie Madness
School Break Programs
Book Buzz
Monday Movie Madness
School Break Programs
Play & Learn
Discovery Time
Poetry Contest
Great Yarns: Knitting and Crocheting @ your library
Summer Reading Program
2009 Master the Art of
Reading (adult)
Express Yourself @ your library (teens)
Be Creative @ your library (elementary)
Read to Me (pre-readers)
Family Christmas Craft Workshop