Print  email 

Library measure trails; service cuts are likely

District now will determine its priorities before economic downsizing

By Christian Hill | The Olympian • Published February 04, 2009

• Comments (0)

Voters were rejecting a tax measure Tuesday night that Timberland Regional Library officials say is needed to prevent cuts in staffing, hours and programs.

Photo Gallery:

Timberland Regional Library hopes for levy passage

About the measure

The Timberland Regional Library district's board of trustees submitted the tax-increase measure to the ballot in September. The library budgeted $400,000 for the election.

The proposal would have raised — or "lifted" — the district's tax levy to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed value from 32.9 cents per $1,000, although the district didn't intend to levy the full amount for 2010. Because public agencies are limited to increasing property-tax revenues 1 percent a year — the result of a voter-approved initiative — the levy rate gradually shrinks as the assessed value in the district grows.

Initial election results from the five counties that encompass the district show the levy-lid lift was failing 55.7 percent to 44.3 percent.

Voters in Grays Harbor, Lewis and Thurston counties were rejecting the measure; those in Mason and Pacific counties were passing it. The measure needs a simple majority of more than 50 percent of the vote to pass.

Election officials still need to count late-arriving ballots mailed or deposited in a drop box by the voting deadline.

"I wouldn't believe there's enough to change the outcome of the election," said Michael Crose, the district's administrative services director. "We'll deal with what the voters have mandated. That was their choice."

What's next

Crose said it's "highly unlikely" the district will put forth another tax measure for the next several years.

He said the district will immediately begin a planning process to identify key services and programs so budget writers can trim those deemed a lesser priority when the time comes.

Library officials and a critic of the district said the election came down to a single factor: the economy.

"I think the level of uncertainty that exists right now played a major role in that decision," Crose said. "The other side of it is that people are recognizing that the library is the place to go when you have no other resources."

Gil Carbone, a former Olympia councilman who is critical of the district, said it was a "dumb idea" to put the measure before voters at "a time when people are hunkering down."

"I just think that there aren't many people who are going to be voting enthusiastically for additional taxation right now," said Carbone, who noted he "swallowed hard" and voted for the measure because he recognizes the importance of the library as a retired educator. "It's absolutely the wrong time."

The district is projecting a $2.5 million shortfall next year because its available revenue cannot cover increasing costs. In addition to the property-tax cap, the district is receiving far less revenue from forest excise taxes, its second-largest revenue source.

To cut costs, the district has enacted a hiring freeze, purchased fewer books and other materials, and closed some of its libraries on Sundays.

The district celebrated its 40th anniversary in December. It has grown to include 27 libraries, more than 400 employees and a collection of nearly 1.7 million books, magazines, CDs and videos.

The recession is driving more residents to Timberland libraries, which this year are expected to circulate about 1 million more items than they did a decade ago, officials have said.

Voters in Shelton were approving a measure to annex the city into the library district. The city contracts with the district its services.