County library officials make last pitch for new district

Lincoln County library officials made their final pitches to the public earlier this week in a continued effort to generate support for a new independent district.

The county’s budget crisis led commissioners to approve putting the question of forming a separate library district on the June 4 primary election ballot.

Voters who support the creation of the district will be approving a maximum 13.49 mills of property tax to operate the district. The library currently receives a total of 3.49 voted mills to support its operations. It also receives 3.9 general mills from the county and non-tax revenue of 1.649 mills. 

The total of 9.046 mills generates the bulk of the money the library receives to run its branches in Libby, Troy and Eureka. It also gets a little more than $14,000 from the state.

Library officials say they are seeking the 13.49 mills to expand hours of operation as well as handle maintenance problems at Libby and Troy.

If voters approve an independent district, the previously voter-approved 3.49 mills would cease to exist.

According to calculations by the county, the annual tax to support libraries in Libby, Troy and Eureka would be $18.21 for the owner of a property with an assessed market value at $100,000. For the owner of a $300,000 property, it would be $54.63 and for a $600,000 property, the tax would be $109.27.

If voters OK a new district, officials say it would become operational beginning with the 2025-26 fiscal year. The earliest the mill levy would appear on tax bills is November 2024 and the district wouldn’t have the money to operate until January 2025.

The county library system was formed nearly 104 years ago and supported by county property owners. But various factors, including the failure of the lumber industry combined with rising costs, such as salaries and health insurance, have led library officials and commissioners to seek a different way to fund the system. 

The topic has generated wide interest across the county. Signs supporting the new district are seen frequently and social media discussions are passionate on both sides.

One woman who attended the presentation in Libby Monday evening didn’t want to be identified.

“I’m not against libraries, but I don’t feel it’s realistic,” she said.

She also questioned the need for three libraries in the county.

“Flathead County has three and it is much larger,” she said.

Many people have also expressed concerns that if the library system isn’t under the county’s purview, how it would operate in public view.

Ramirez explained that library board members would be elected during a primary or general election by registered county voters.

“Our current board meetings are open to the public and that would stay the same if a separate district is formed,” Ramirez said.

Library Director Alyssa Ramirez said if voters don’t approve the levy to form a new district, one of two branches would close.

The prospect of that happening is a difficult one for many people to accept.

At a commission meeting earlier this year, public comment was accepted and of the approximately 110 received, 100 were in support of the libraries and the formation of a district.

“Please don’t take the library,” Linda Owen wrote in an email. “It is vital to me and has been vital to my children’s education. Where has the money for the new addition to the library in Troy gone, too? I will gladly vote for a tax increase. I feel a personal and social responsibility to support the library.”

Ramirez has acknowledged the commissioners are in a tough spot.

“One of the big issues is that in 1986, Initiative 105 froze county property tax levels. They can only be increased at one-half the rate of inflation for the three prior years,” Ramirez said. “That really limits what can be done.”

The library system considered forming an independent district nearly a decade ago. Former director Rick Ball sought the change in 2015 to “ensure stable funding for the libraries, especially in the face of shrinking county budgets.” 

Library Board Committee Chair Barb Hvizdak said Ball resigned in October 2017 and there was no further discussion regarding a levy.

But costs have increased and the library budget is now $540,000.

If the independent library district doesn’t pass, the library would continue under the current county structure, but with reduced funding and fewer services.

Library officials have said that if voters approve the new district, they could increase services.

In its 2024-29 Strategic Direction, library officials worked Stu Wilson, a national library consultant for the last 10 years. He is affiliated with Library Strategies and The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, the foundation for the public library in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

After a look at the county system, increased services and programming for pre-K children, teens and seniors, advancing tech and digital resources and assistance and workforce development were among areas marked for improvement.

Some of the other goals were looking at current library hours and possibly offering more convenient hours and program offerings for working families.

County library officials also shared information that reported the Lincoln County system has more than 7,600 cardholders, mailed nearly 4,000 books to children in Lincoln County who participated in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program and hosted more than 700 programs for all ages with nearly 17,000 people attending.

People visiting the libraries have dropped dramatically since the Libby branch flooded in May 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 80,000 visits were recorded in fiscal year 2019 before a nosedive to a little more than 40,000 in FY 2021. In FY 2023, the visits are back to about 50,000.

But the number of card holders has increased from just under 6,000 in FY 2019 to nearly 8,000 in FY 2023. Public computer sessions are also on track to hit pre-pandemic level.