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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   Lake Stevens library annexation measure Deadline to send in ballots: Tuesday Levy rate proposed: 31.3 cents per $1,000 of assessed value Cost for the owner of a $300,000 home: $94 per year Cost for the owner of a $400,000 home: $125 per year Current amount paid separately by the city: $570,301 for 2008 (equates to 29.5 cents per $1,000) Source: city of Lake Stevens   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, May 16, 2008 Lake Stevens Library on ballot Voters will be asked if they want to be taxed directly to support the library. By Bill Sheets Herald Writer LAKE STEVENS -- When a woman came to the Lake Stevens Library looking for information on children's health issues, Chy Ross was able to help her. Ross, the managing librarian, said he helped the woman find information on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and Asperger's syndrome, similar to autism. Even so, others say that in tough economic times, a library might not be an essential item for a city. Joe Sutton opposes a ballot measure to tax Lake Stevens property owners for library service. "Maybe it's time to think about what our essential services are like police, fire and roads, and what our nonessential services are, i.e. nice things to have like libraries," Sutton said. Currently, city residents pay indirectly for library service, through a fee the city pays to the Sno-Isle Libraries. If the ballot measure is approved, property owners would pay the new tax directly to the library district. Voters have until Tuesday to send back their mail-in ballots. The owner of a $300,000 home would pay $94 per year for library service, or 31.3 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. The measure is being proposed for three reasons, officials say: First, the city will pay $570,301 -- or 23 percent of the city's general fund budget -- this year to the Sno-Isle Library District to run the Lake Stevens Library, compared to $298,726 last year. Annexations have boosted Lake Stevens' tax base and its expenses as well. Officials with the burgeoning city say they could use the savings for other items such as sidewalks and parks. Second, officials say the Lake Stevens Library is small and outdated and the tax is the best way to pave the way for construction of a new library. Third, the tax provides funding for the library for years to come. "It's not subject to the economic ebbs and flows of the general fund," Ross said. The city has received several suggestions for how to spend its savings if the measure passes. Sidewalks and parks are the most popular, city administrator Jan Berg said. Recently annexed areas were unincorporated for many years and did not have sidewalks. Some voters, including Sutton, would like to see the city cut its own tax rate accordingly. "If they need money for those items they should ask for it in a separate vote and not use library funds," Sutton said. "To me, it's a stealth tax increase." That idea's not practical, Berg said. "It's very expensive to run an election every time you want to buy something," she said. Berg said the public will have every opportunity to tell the city how to spend the money, or not spend it, during the 2009 budget process this fall. "If you don't like the way the money's being spent, come and talk to us," she said. Berg said if the library tax measure doesn't pass, she'll recommend that it be tried again. If it were to fail again, the library would have to compete with other items in the city budget for funding, she said. If the library tax is approved, Sno-Isle is expected to come back to voters next year with another tax to build a new library building. The cost of a new library has yet to be determined. The current 2,500 square-foot building was built in the 1970s and has no meeting space. The national standard for a library for a service area the size of Lake Stevens is about 17,000 square feet, Ross said. It's possible for the city to form a capital library district for a new building without paying the operations tax, but no other cities in the district have paid for new buildings this way, Sno-Isle spokeswoman Mary Kelly said. Lake Stevens is one of only four remaining cities in Snohomish and Island counties that pay through a contract. One of the other three, Darrington, also has a tax measure on the current ballot. The other cities are Stanwood and Langley. Residents in fifteen cities pay the tax directly. The contract method creates inequities in the system, officials point out. Users of the Lake Stevens Library who live in unincorporated areas are already paying the tax at 31.3 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, while the city's contract fee equates to 29.5 cents per $1,000, Kelly said. Sutton said he understands that libraries have value, but suggested they could be funded privately, through user fees and fundraising, as is done by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Snohomish County. "This is appropriate for a 'service club' and avoids putting a heavy tax burden on property owners," Sutton said. Berg said residents have been supportive of public funding for libraries. One of those is Don Wilson, 65, who uses the Lake Stevens Library frequently to find genealogical information he says is not always available online at home. "I'm very much a supporter of libraries," he said as he sat at one of the computers at the library. The city could follow Sutton's recommendation and leave the library to its own devices, Berg said, "but that's not what we've heard from the community." Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.

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