MARYSVILLE — Sno-Isle Regional Library District officials hope Nov. 4 voters will approve a request to lift the district’s levy lid on taxes to make up for an $800,000 budget shortfall.
If the measure fails, the district will close all 20 of its branches and suspend services such as the bookmobile and Web site for a week in 2004, as well as make other cuts in staff and services.
A previous attempt to pass the measure in February failed by about 2 percent, falling just more than 2,600 votes short of approval to return the levy to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation from its current 46 cents per $1,000.
If the measure fails again, library patrons are likely to face further cuts in 2005, library officials say. Passage would allow the library to maintain its current hours and services. The district serves 580,000 residents in Snohomish and Island counties.
"This is not a levy that we need to come back to the voters every year for," said Gwen Scott-Miller, the library’s assistant director.
The last time the library district sought a levy lid increase was in 1989.
The levy rate, which by law is capped at 50 cents per $1,000, falls as property taxes increase. If the levy lid is returned to 50 cents, the owner of a $200,000 home would pay $100 a year — $8 more than the current library levy. In 2004, the levy rate is expected to be about 44.4 cents per thousand, unless the measure passes.
The measure requires a simple majority to pass.
There is no organized opposition to the measure.
For more information, call the library at 800-342-1936, e-mail questions to librarylevy@sno-isle.org or visit the district’s Web site at www.sno-isle.org.
Reporter Cathy Logg: 425-339-3437 or logg@heraldnet.com.
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