Issue 20: Libraries seek 68% increase in one of its two levies
What is Issue 20?
This ballot measure seeks to renew and increase a Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library tax levy for a 10-year period
What does the library system want?
The library system's board of trustees voted July 18 to ask voters to renew and add to a 2013 levy. If passed, Hamilton County homeowners would pay $43 a year for each $100,000 of their home value. Added to a 2018 library levy that runs through 2028, homeowners would be paying $74 per $100,000 in home value to support county-wide libraries.
If Issue 20 passes, the 2013 levy would be going up 68%. Trustees considered but rejected keeping the levy at the same level for another 10 years, or asking for a 116% increase.
Here's the overall breakdown:
How much would the higher levy raise for libraries?
The ballot measure would generate $30.9 million a year for the library system, up from $19.6 million under the current levy.
In 2022, local libraries got $50.5 million of their total funds from the state of Ohio's Public Library Fund. Another $40 million came from its two levies.
What happens if the levy fails?
If Issue 20 fails, the libraries annual levy income would fall by half, with about $20 million continuing to flow from the 2018 levy. That could jeopardize completion of an in-progress 2019 master plan for library buildings. Under the Next Generation program, administrators are spending $350 million for improvements at all 41 of its branches.
Here's the latest on those projects:
What does Issue 20 actually say?
Voters will see this language on their ballots:
A renewal of one (1) mill and an increase of one half mills constituting a tax for the benefit of the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library for the purpose of PROVIDING FUNDS FOR OPERATING EXPENSES AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, that the county auditor estimates will collect $30,878,000 annually, at a rate not exceeding one and one half mills for each one dollar of valuation, which amounts to $43.00 for each $100,000 of the county auditor's appraised value, for (10) years commencing in January of 2024.
Who supports the library levy?
Citizens for Your Library's Future, the group raising money for the libraries levy, had a bit more than $339,000 in hand on July 31, according to its filing with the Hamilton County Board of Elections.
It collected $195,000 of that in April and May:
The Library Foundation of Cincinnati and Hamilton County gave $20,000 on April 20 and $155,000 on May 20. The foundation, with $9.3 million in assets and 30 board members representing well-known local employers, gave the library system just more than $927,000 in the year ended June 30, 2022, its latest filing with the Internal Revenue Service shows. That was awarded as grants and program support.
Friends of the Public Library gave $20,000 on April 15. Friends, with assets of about $1 million and a board of 13, supports the library system by selling used books and other materials from its Hartwell warehouse.
Who opposes the measure?
The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce is against Issue 20. In a statement, the chamber applauded the library system's work to encourage literacy and assist library users in other ways, but said it opted not to support its call for higher property taxes.
The chamber is supporting ballot issues to sell the Cincinnati Southern Railway and renew a levy for the Cincinnati Zoo.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Issue 20: What is the Cincinnati & Hamilton County library levy?
