Library tax holds slim approval

A tax increase proposal that would help maintain library services across Snohomish and Island counties gained a little breathing room Wednesday as another large batch of ballots was counted.

The “yes” vote for Sno-Isle Libraries Proposition 1 inched up to from 51.1 to 51.4 percent after another 10,000 ballots were tabulated. The new total is 51,421 to 48,531 in favor of the measure.

Sno-Isle leaders still aren’t saying they believe the measure has passed.

“We feel really good about the numbers and the direction the numbers are going,” said Mary Kelly, a library spokeswoman. “This kind of support, when the economy is in the shape it’s in, really says a lot.”

Kelly said it is hard to know how many ballots are still coming in and how many that have been received have yet to be counted.

The ballot measure needs 50 percent plus one vote to pass.

If the proposition passes, the tax rate for the libraries would jump from 31 cents to 40 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. The increase would allow the 21-library system to avoid cutting hours next year.



Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.