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By
RAELYNN RICARTE
News staff writer
The Hood
River County Commission decided Thursday upon the millage rate that
will be presented to voters in November for funding of a new library
district. The
electorate will be asked to weigh in on a property tax rate of 39
cents per $1,000 of assessed value. “In this
model, property taxes fund only a core, bare-bones library service,”
Hood River Mayor Arthur Babitz told county officials at the Aug. 12
hearing. He made a
point to tell the commission and audience that his involvement in
preparing the budget model had been done as a citizen and not as a
representative of the city. “We have
to rely upon property taxes for three-quarters of the (library
district’s) budget because that is a stable source of funding,” he
said. He said
revenue from property taxes would net about $643,500 each year to
operate libraries in These
revenue sources are expected to bring the library district’s total
operating budget up to $871,000. Babitz
said success of the new venture will rely upon 4,000-5,000 of
volunteer hours each year to provide services. The goal is to have the
central library on “We need
strong, broad community support because the success of this district
is going to be dependent upon community participation,” said Babitz. He said
the chosen permanent tax rate would place For
example, the rate charge to operate The Dalles-Wasco County Library is
68 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. Residents
will be provided with an opportunity to comment on the proposed tax
rate on Sept. 1. The commission will hold the second and final hearing
on formation of the new district at At
Thursday’s hearing, commissioners Maui Meyer and Barbara Briggs
expressed interest in asking voters for a few more cents to build up
funds for future building replacement. Chair Ron
Rivers and commissioners Chuck Thomsen and Les Perkins thought that
asking for more money would be a “deal killer” with the electorate. “I like
the number being below 40 (cents). We need to be thinking of what
people are willing to vote for,” said Thomsen. Babitz
told the commission that he had been joined by 11 other citizens in
preparing the budget model. He said
the group had divided into three teams and researched historical data
and operational data for other library districts within He said
the wishes of voters that funding not only be shouldered by property
owners was also factored into the equation. Almost all
of the 100 respondents in a survey recently taken by Rains Marketing
LLC wanted user sees, city/county contributions and donations from
private/corporate entities. County
officials enlisted the help of Gary Rains, a local marketing
consultant, for the telephone poll after the defeat of a first library
district funding measure. Voters in May rejected a tax proposal of 70
cents per $1,000 of assessed value. The ballot
measure passed in the City of Hood River by a 58.66 percent majority
but was defeated by an overall 60 percent in outlying areas of the
county. All three
libraries were shut down June 30 due to a cession of funding. The
county made the decision last year not to fund the libraries beyond
that date due to a $2 million shortfall in timber receipts. Babitz
said the committee recommends that none of the libraries reopen until
November of 2011 if voters approve the added taxes. He said it would
be important not to incur debt through a bridge loan so the new
district could start out on stable financial ground. He said,
even at a reduced rate, it should be possible for the new library
district to purchase new books and publications on a regular basis. He
said careful money management should also allow for an endowment fund
to meet future needs.
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