The directors of Sno-Isle Regional Library System are trying to educate voters about the need for a library levy this November, but attendance was sparse at a levy presentation Oct. 7 in Oak Harbor at Skagit Valley College.

Despite the low attendance — only four of the 11 people attending were not affiliated with the library — Library Director Jonalyn Woolf-Ivory gave her presentation anyway.

The pitch is this: The library system is only asking voters to approve increasing the levy tax from 46 cents to a fixed 50 cents per thousand, not to approve an additional 50-cent tax.

An attempt to pass the increase in February failed, although Island County voters approved it. Woolf-Ivory said the most no votes came from the northern and eastern parts of Snohomish County.

Meeting part of outreach effort

She said library officials learned from the failed levy that they needed to make a great effort to reach voters, answer their questions and explain the levy process.

“For a $300,000 house, a homeowner will pay an additional $12 a year,” Woolf-Ivory said. At the current rate that homeowner is paying $138 in property taxes for the library levy.

Libraries used to be able to keep the levy rate at 50 cents, which kept pace with expenses. As home valuations increased, so did the property tax revenues. That option ended in 2002 with the passage of Initiative 747, which requires all tax increases over 1 percent to be approved by voters. Libraries and other levy-funded agencies were no longer able to adjust the levy rate to keep it level. A 1 percent annual increase would not keep pace with inflation, and libraries would continue to fall behind.

“In the past, the levy rate has been set in order to determine our revenue; that doesn’t happen anymore. Now, the revenue is set at 1 percent above and, based on assessed valuation of the Library District, the levy rate is then calculated from that dollar amount,” Mary Kelly, Sno-Isle community relations manager, said.

If the levy rate increase passes, the system will receive an additional $2.4 million in revenues. A defeat at the polls would mean an $800,000 budget shortfall in 2004.

Levy loss

impact detailed

Woolf-Ivory spelled out for those in attendance what the levy loss would mean to library patrons. In making the $800,000 downward adjustments, all libraries would close for one week in August, three Snohomish County libraries would be closed on Sundays, the Clinton library would not be open on Saturdays, and the materials budget would be cut by $214,000. None of these cost-saving measures would be easy, Woolf-Ivory said.

“We see ourselves in the books and reading business. It hurts us to make these adjustments.”

Sno-Isle has been making adjustments already, Woolf-Ivory said. In the last two years the Library District has reduced or deferred $2.5 million in expenditures from its budget by taking a $550,000 cut in the equipment budget, deferred deposits to the cash reserve and reserve funds, reduced training, and minimized staff increases. All this was done at a time when the district opened two new, larger libraries in Monroe and Snohomish.

Shirley Roullard, Oak Harbor library patron, asked if the library had any other sources of income.

Woolf-Ivory said 90 percent of their revenue comes from property taxes, with a small and unpredictable amount coming from state timber taxes. They also receive grants for special projects, and help from Friends of the Library groups.

Debbie LaGasse, childrens library program staff member, said she has heard people say they are concerned that if they vote yes for this levy, where will it end?

“All tax supported organizations are going through the same struggle,” Woolf-Ivory said. “It says a lot about a community to have a strong library, hospital and schools.”

Island County voters won’t have to choose between levies for other services this time. The library levy vote is the only one on the ballot.

While Sno-Isle directors know a tax increase in uncertain economic times is a hard sell, Oak Harbor Managing Librarian Mary Campbell says the library is worth it.

“We want people to know, the library is a really good bargain.”