MILL CREEK – Library service in Mill Creek could soon be a thing of the past, some city officials and residents are saying.
Others aren’t so sure.
Currently, Mill Creek pays $530,000 per year to the Sno-Isle Regional Library System to run the library. But a ballot measure in Tuesday’s primary election would have residents pay a tax to Sno-Isle so funding wouldn’t come out of the city’s budget.
If the measure fails, Sno-Isle would bow out, and the city could not cover the cost, officials said.
Even if the half-million dollars is removed from the budget, the city is still projected to be $150,000 to $450,000 in the red in the next two years, City Manager Bob Stowe said.
That’s why resident Barbara Masterson, co-chairwoman of the “Yes for Libraries” group promoting passage of the measure, volunteered to help run the campaign.
“If this yes vote doesn’t pass, then our library closes,” Masterson said.
No organized opposition to the measure has surfaced. But Pam Pruitt, a former City Council member, is skeptical about the measure.
“This isn’t about the library,” she said. The city is “holding it hostage,” when it should have had an open discussion with residents about how to address its revenue shortage.
“They’re getting us to tax ourselves so they can spend it on other city services,” Pruitt said.
Property owners would pay 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or about $150 per year for the owner of a $300,000 home, if the measure is approved. That would equal the tax property owners in unincorporated Snohomish and Island counties and those in 12 other cities pay to Sno-Isle.
Council member John “Jack” Start said if the measure fails it won’t necessarily mean the end of the library. He said current funding would keep the library open through the end of 2005, giving the city time to find a solution.
“Like a lot of revenue measures, it if doesn’t pass the first time it has a way of reappearing on the ballot,” he said.
Start said the city could have put its own tax on the ballot to cover its expenses, including the library.
The Mill Creek library is the fourth-busiest of the 20 libraries Sno-Isle operates, drawing more than 140,000 visits last year, said Mary Kelly, Sno-Isle spokeswoman. If the library were to close, Mill Creek residents would not be able to get a card at other Sno-Isle libraries.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 435-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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