Belgrade voters approve library levy

published on Tuesday, November 3, 2009 11:51 PM MST

By DANIEL PERSON Chronicle Staff Writer

Belgrade voters approved a property tax increase for the Belgrade Library, a move officials say will help the library address growing demand.

Voters approved the levy by 98 votes, 794 for and 696 against.

“This says a lot about the future of the library and Belgrade,” the library’s director Gale Bacon said upon hearing the results.

Taxes levied are combined with county, state and other funds to make up its budget.

But library officials say the levy amount has not kept pace with increasing power bills, health insurance costs and book prices. Last year, Bacon had to borrow $50,000 from the city of Belgrade to balance the budget and keep the doors open, she said. Bacon has also been supplementing the budget with fundraisers and grants. But those sources are temporary and getting scarce, she said.

Meanwhile, resurgence in adult use of the library has suggested an increased demand for its services, and about 1,600 people now visit the library weekly, Bacon said.

Bacon said the $72,000 mill levy is necessary to keep the library at current levels of staffing and hours of operation, which are close to the minimum levels required by the state. The library is now open 40 hours a week with three part time and two full time employees. Grants and fundraisers are relied for an extra full time employee and new materials.

The levy will raise property taxes on homes assessed at $100,000 about $25.

Bacon said money would go toward reducing its debt and addressing demand for more hours of operation.

Belgrade voters have proven reluctant to vote in tax increases recently. In June, voters in the Belgrade Elementary school district rejected an annual property tax increase to support the schools -- the first time that had happened in 40 years.

Herb Benz, superintendent of Belgrade Public Schools, blamed the June vote on an economic “tailspin” that has caused many Belgrade residents to lose their jobs.

The levy would have increased property taxes for homes with a taxable value of $100,000 by $12.12, about half the amount voters were asked to approve on Tuesday.

That vote forced to the school board to approve $45,000 in budget cuts, lay off three employees and wipe out about a dozen hourly, on-call positions.

Daniel Person can be reached at dperson@dailychronicle.com or 582-2665.

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