Rolling Hills Library to ask voters for lower tax levy

By Chris Fortune

Many residents could see a reduction in property taxes if they vote to approve a lower tax levy from Rolling Hills Library on April 2.

Lowering its overall tax levy from $0.31 to $0.28 per $100 assessed valuation by ending the sunset portion of the levy would allow the library’s St. Joseph branch to pay its bonds over a longer term for the new library it will build.

Its revenue will lower slightly, but Rolling Hills found that it can continue providing resources and programs for its visitors with the lower tax levy.

“Just like when you buy a house, you want a good term for your mortgage, so your payments are affordable,” Library Director Michelle Mears said. “And that’s what we’re looking for with this change to the levy.”

Voter registration cards and property tax statements show which library district residents live in.

The new library project will move forward regardless of the outcome of the April 2 election, but some concessions in the buildout of the new library would likely be made if the lower tax levy does not pass.

“The amount we can afford to borrow may be impacted if this ballot issue does not pass,” she said. “We may have to make some hard choices about fewer square feet, features of the building and other things that we would like to see to be able to keep it affordable.”

Voters overwhelmingly approved a renewal of the sunset portion of the tax levy in August 2019 for the library, with 80% in support. The library board had gone through a strategic planning process, and they were not prepared to commit to a new building at the time.

“At the time, in 2019, it felt like the best campaign would be to just renew the same amount for another 20 years, and then because we didn’t really have a plan yet of what to do with the funds and what we wanted the future of the library to be,” she said.

Mears said the plan with a lower tax levy makes more sense, and projections show the valuation of the properties in the library’s district would be good enough to fund it for up to 40 years.

“We would be able to not only afford our annual bond payments, but then we would also have funds for operations and to continue growing and paying staff,” she said.

Rolling Hills needs 50% support plus one vote for the lower tax levy to pass, and they feel confident voters will support it.

“We have so much support from our library users and the residents of our district,” she said. “Everyone loves the library, and so we feel really good about this issue.”