We know voters may have several questions related to the cost of the proposed new library.
We asked Library Board President Eric Magette to provide answers to some key points.
First, we wanted to know about the cost of the mail-in election and how it was being funded. Magette said county election officials estimated the cost to be $30,000 when the library first inquired. He said they have requested an updated estimate from the county clerk’s office and will provide it when they know.
As far as how the election will be paid for, Magette said the library will use budgetary reserve funds. He said it’s unfortunate the library was not able to save money by running the bond election during the fall general election, but an attorney general opinion required some changes before they were able to move forward.
Next, we asked about how much operational expenses would increase by moving to the new library. Magette said they estimate operating costs would increase by $50,000 to $70,000 with the proposed new building.
Much of the increase would be tied to utilities, along with additional expenses for insurance and custodial.
Utility costs at the current library have ranged from $5,600 to $8,000 in recent years. The new library would be 4.5 times larger than the existing space, so Magette said there may be an increase of $20,000 to $30,000 per year in utility costs.
However, he also believes this estimate to be high and said some of the increase will be offset by rental fees for use of public rooms as well as new energy efficient systems that the current library doesn’t have.
He said the staff is working on more detailed estimates, but noted “the last thing we want is to ask taxpayers to fund a bond only to ask them again to fund a large increase in the operating budget.”
The library board and staff have been preparing for years now for the possibility of the new library and have ended recent years with budget surpluses to be able to use going forward, Magette said.
There are also no plans to add new staff to the new library but rather continue with existing employees.
Magette has previously provided information that the owner of a $150,000 home could expect to pay about $65 more in taxes per year for the next 20 years to pay for the construction of the new library.
When asked about the potential for the library’s current mill rate to increase to pay for operational costs, Magette said he believes that preparations in recent years and adjustments to budgets and operations will allow them to open the new building without increasing the mill rate.
In a hypothetical situation, he said if a mill rate needed to change to raise another $20,000 to $30,000 per year to support operational costs, it would amount to between $4 to $7 more per year for the owner of a $150,000 home.
We also asked what taxpayers are now paying to support the library. Magette said an owner of a $150,000 home is paying about $67 per year now to fund the library.
Therefore, if the new library is approved, the owner of a $150,000 home would go from paying about $67 a year to support the library to $132 a year for the next 20 years to support paying for the new building and operational costs.
