Library board votes to place levy on ballot

During Friday’s meeting, Whitman County Library Board of Trustees voted to place a library maintenance and operation levy restoration election on the Feb. 11 ballot. Restoring the levy rate allows the library to maintain existing hours, collections, technology, programs and staffing levels in all 14 county locations.

The measure seeks to reset the library’s levy rate to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value within the library district, a rate that was originally approved by voters in 1984 and was in effect through 2002. With the passage of I-747 in 2001 the levy rate began to drop, requiring voters to restore the levy in 2010 and now, again for 2015.

If approved in February, the restored library levy rate will increase by 7.08 cents returning to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. This means approximately $7 more per year for the owner of a $100,000 home.

According to library Director Kristie Kirk-patrick, the cost of running 14 library locations is rapidly outpacing the library’s revenue. Whitman County Library serves nearly 15,000 residents through a system of fourteen branch locations.

All unincorporated areas of the county will vote on the measure along with the towns of Albion, Colfax, Endicott, Farmington, Garfield, LaCrosse, Lamont, Malden, Oakesdale, Palouse, St. John and Tekoa.

Residents living within the city limits of Colton, Rosalia and Uniontown will not vote on the levy because their cities contract for library services and they are not officially in the district. Their contracts will reflect the increase if it is approved. Pullman city residents are served by Neill Public Library and are unaffected by this measure.