Library district could help solve funding problems

By Cherry Sokoloski
Fossil Creek Current

If public library supporters have their way, voters could see a library district measure on this November's ballot. The Fort Collins City Council will likely decide in April whether to move in that direction.

A library district would change the way public libraries in the Fort Collins area are funded, by establishing a new property tax. It could also provide operating funds for a third public library in the southeast part of the city.

Currently, the two public libraries in Fort Collins are financed out of the city's general fund. With a library district, the funding base would be much larger, meaning that more people would share in the cost of operating the libraries. The idea, according to district proponents, is to have everyone who uses the libraries help pay for them.

Library district boundaries that are being suggested would encompass all of Poudre School District, plus some property in the Thompson School District. The south line would extend roughly to Carpenter Road, the south end of Fort Collins' Growth Management Area. Since the proposed district would be larger than the city limits, Fort Collins would need to partner with Larimer County on the project.

A library district would work the same as other taxing districts, such as fire protection districts and weed districts. Everyone within the district would be taxed to pay for library services.

If the measure gets on the November ballot, voters within the proposed boundaries will decide whether to form the district and whether to fund it with a property tax of approximately 3 mills. That would translate to about $60 per year for a home assessed at $255,000, the average home price within the proposed area.

Red Feather Lakes and Wellington would be within the proposed boundaries, and both already have libraries. Red Feather Lakes formed its own library district a few years ago. According to library director Sarah Miles, the village's library board has just begun to discuss the prospect of a new district. The board supports Fort Collins' efforts in forming a district, she said, but members have not decided whether their district should be included.

The Wellington library is currently funded by the town of Wellington. The town board discussed the library district idea in mid-March and is leaning against participating, according to Larry Noel, who is both mayor and president of the town's library board. The board will make a decision when it is presented with a definite proposal.

Could restore cuts

A library district would solve several problems, according to Marty Tharp, a former city council member and member of an ad hoc group promoting the notion of a library district. First, some of the recent cuts in library funding could be restored.

"The library budget has been cut a total of $500,000 since 2002," she pointed out. Tharp fears that if a library district is not formed, more cuts could be forthcoming. "The library has already reduced hours, book purchases and programs," she said. "At the same time, the population has expanded, and library circulation has expanded even more than the population."

Changing the way libraries are funded would also help solve Fort Collins' current budget woes. Since the funding would come from a new tax, the city would save $3.5 million per year, money it currently budgets for the two city libraries.

At present the residents of southeast Fort Collins have the farthest to travel to access a public library. To accommodate young families in that part of town, the library holds weekly story times at Austin's American Grill on Harmony Road. The restaurant is hosting more than 50 children each week at no charge. While grateful for the help from Austin's, Tharp said, "As a city, we should be doing better than that."

A funding district would allow Fort Collins to operate a third library in the southeast part of town. The city already has the funds to build a third library, Tharp pointed out, but without operating money that facility won't be built.

Another advantage of a district, Tharp said, would be a fairer sharing of costs by public library users. There are currently 114,000 library cardholders. According to library director Brenda Carns, about 13 percent of those live outside the city limits, and it costs the city about $32 per year for every library user. Larimer County has not provided direct funding to the library system since 1999, although county residents who shop in the city do support the system indirectly through sales taxes.

Tharp noted that the move toward library districts is widespread in Colorado and the rest of the country. There are currently 49 such districts in the state. Of the 12 Colorado cities having populations over 100,000, only three, including Fort Collins, do not have library districts.

Last summer, Friends of the Library paid for a professional survey of voters in PSD regarding library services and funding. More than 60 percent of the respondents said they were in favor of forming a library district.

Schedule outlined

The Fort Collins City Council will hold a work session April 11 to discuss the library district idea. A preliminary meeting among library personnel, council members and county staff is planned for later this month, followed by a second work session on May 9.

If both the city and county agree to go the district route, measures will be placed on the November ballot. If voters approve the plan, a district could be formed in January 2007 and could begin collecting tax money in April 2007. A board of trustees appointed by the city and county would govern the district.

The two jurisdictions would invite Wellington and Red Feather Lakes to be included in the new district, but those communities have the option of declining.