Rolling Hills Library leader responds to tax levy opposition
By Chris Fortune
A local library director is encouraging voters to stay informed after flyers were mailed and commercials aired in opposition to its tax levy issue.
Rolling Hills Library’s St. Joseph branch is seeking to lower its overall tax levy from $0.31 to $0.28 per $100 assessed valuation by ending the sunset portion of the levy in the April 2 election.
Flyers went out to homes in St. Joseph, labeling the Rolling Hills Library tax levy a “forever tax” that would affect future generations.
“I think that’s a bit of a misnomer,” library director Michelle Mears said. “$0.16 of our $0.31 is already a forever tax. It’s passed by the voters, it’s a permanent operating levy.”
Mears said sunset levies are for projects with a specific end date, and it’s uncommon for libraries to have them in Missouri.
“This is the only place in the entire state of Missouri that puts these limitations on their public tax support for public libraries,” she said.
Rolling Hills is planning to build a new library, which could open by 2026, and some concessions would have to be made in the buildout of the library if the tax levy issue does not pass.
Removing the sunset portion of the tax levy would help the library afford its annual bond payments. Mears said removing the current sunset, which is set to end in 2039, will also help the library budget in the future.
“I can’t give people raises and then, in 15 years, take them away or fire half the staff because half of my operating levy is gone,” she said. “It’s really difficult to not know what your budget’s going to be. And so that’s really why we want to eliminate that sunset.”
The flyers sent to St. Joseph homes in opposition of removing the sunset portion of the levy were sent by Teachers First, LLC, and they shared a return address with a Staples in Kansas City. Mears urged voters to look at the fine print when they see ads or mail encouraging them to vote a certain way.
“If you can’t find anything online about that company or about that group, that’s probably a pretty big clue that they’re trying to hide what the funding source is and why they’re doing it,” she said.
Voters can decide whether to approve or deny the tax levy during Missouri’s general municipal election day on April 2.
