Mary Pat Essman (left), director of Lane Libraries, and Ann Berg (right), president of Friends of Hamilton-Fairfield Lane Libraries, speak Saturday afternoon at the Hamilton branch to inform and encourage Butler County residents to support the upcoming levy. (SCOTT ALLISON | The Miami Student)
The Lane Libraries of Butler County have proposed a 0.75-mill property tax levy, which will appear on the May 4 ballot, in order to compensate for the significant loss in funding from the state of Ohio.
Mary Pat Essman, director of Lane Libraries, said library funding from the state decreased by $1.1 million dollars from 2008 to 2009.
"At the beginning of the year, we thought they (the cuts) were going to be small," Essman said. "People kept watching it, and we realized they were getting larger and larger. Cuts ended up being just a little under 18 percent."
If passed, the levy is projected to generate about $2.58 million per year over a five-year period. Essman said every homeowner of a $100,000 home would pay just under $2 per month or $22.97 per year.
"We like to say that it (the tax) would be the equivalent of you sharing a book with your entire community for an entire year," Essman said.
According to Essman, the first thing on the agenda if the levy passes is to protect and maintain the services that Lane Libraries offer.
"We're looking for a stable piece of income and that's what the levy would give us," she said. "Because of the volatility of the state economy, we aren't quite sure what money we would be getting from the state to make up our total budget."
Carrie Mancuso, public relations manager for Lane Libraries, said public libraries receive funding on a monthly basis from the state.
"We don't know what we're getting for each month until the check comes in," Mancuso said. "So there are always projections (of how much money we'll receive), but the problem with projecting is that they (the state) get the income tax from what polls in the state say. That's why it's hard to project because every month is different."
Essman said Ohio's public libraries' incomes are completely dependent on the state's income.
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"If the levy is passed, we hope we will be able to add some service hours because we know that is the most difficult thing for people," Essman said. "We will also be adding more materials and certainly addressing some technology needs."
According to Essman, hours of operation decreased from 69 to 44 hours per week after budget cuts.
"With those fewer operating hours, we had to do a reduction-in-force with our staff," Essman said. "We lost some really valuable, great people."
If the levy passes, Essman hopes Lane Libraries will be able to expand hours of operation.
"I think public libraries are a valuable resource for everyone," said Miami University sophomore Kory Lenz. "I hope that levy passes so they can keep updating their facilities."
Voters who live in the districts of Fairfield City Schools, Hamilton City Schools, New Miami Local Schools, Ross Local Schools, Talawanda City Schools and portions of Edgewood City Schools will see Lane Libraries' levy on their ballot this May.
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