By The Herald Editorial Board
An atmosphere of taxpayer anxiety — in part the result of a temporary spike in property taxes shown in quarterly statements this winter — has made it a challenging time for school, fire and other districts to seek voter approval of tax measures this year.
While almost all school districts in Snohomish County passed their school levies in February, most did so by slimmer margins than had been typical for each. And, notably, construction bond measures for Everett and Arlington school districts failed to win approval from 60 percent of their voters.
That anxiety was most evident in the vote for a $17 million bond measure that would have built a new Sno-Isle Libraries branch in Lake Stevens. That measure was approved by 51 percent, but failed to reach the 60 percent threshold. Just a year earlier, a similar request won 66 percent approval, but failed because it lacked enough votes to validate after healthy turnout for the November 2016 election.
Sno-Isle officials have decided not to return the bond issue to the ballot this year, but plan to go back to the Lake Stevens community for its ideas and comment on what steps to take next in replacing a woefully small library for a growing city.
In the mean time, that leaves the Sno-Isle Libraries system, which offers libraries and services in 23 communities in Snohomish and Island counties, with the responsibility for maintaining the current level of service throughout both counties. The system now seeks voter approval for a levy increase, the ballots for which should be arriving in the mail and must be returned to county election drop boxes or the mail by April 24.
Whatever level of anxiety remains makes it important for supporters of the Sno-Isle system and libraries in general to vote to approve its levy request and return their ballots.
The levy request, the system’s first in nine years, seeks a rate of 47 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, a 9-cent increase over the current levy rate. For a home with an assessed value of $300,000, the library system’s annual tax would be about $141, about $27 above the current levy rate.
The library district’s levy rate is capped at a maximum of 50 cents per $1,000, a rate it last reached in 2014 during the nationwide housing crisis. As home values have increased, the levy rate has been lowered by the county assessor’s office and is currently at 38 cents per $1,000.
Comparable to a school district’s maintenance-and-operations levy, Sno-Isle’s levy request is necessary, say system officials Jonalyn Woolf-Ivory and Jim Hills, to continue the system’s operations at current levels.
Property taxes make up about 98 percent of the system’s annual revenue, which last year provided nearly $42 million of its $44.75 million budget for 2017.
If the levy fails, the system’s reserves, about $3.5 million by the end of this year, will be exhausted in 2019, and the system would have to make about $2 million in cuts, Hills said.
To make those cuts, the libraries would have to cut their hours of operation as well as some programs that serve students, small businesses and others; make fewer acquisitions of books and other media; and layoff staff. The system, Woolf-Ivory said, has been careful with its budget and recently had left some staff positions vacant, while hiring temporary staff for other positions. If the levy fails, she said, most of those temporary hires would be laid off and the vacant positions would be eliminated.
While operations would continue if the levy request is rejected, that’s still represents a significant reduction for residents in both counties of basic library services and programs for children, students and the general public.
Sno-Isle’s libraries and services, including its newest libraries in Lakewood-Smokey Point and Mariner, serve more than 743,000 residents. In 2017, its libraries were visited more than 3.4 million times by nearly 490,000 customers. More than 5.9 million books and other items were checked out; more than 200,000 people attended library programs and classes; and nearly 61,000 kids, 5 and younger, attended library story times.
And — even in the age of Google — librarians still answer “can you tell me” questions. The 309,114 questions asked of Sno-Isle librarians would be enough for 5,067 episodes of “Jeopardy.”
As with schools, fire districts and other such taxpayer-supported services, voters have a significant say in their funding.
Those who recognize the education, information and enrichment that Sno-Isle Libraries bring to their communities — even those who don’t regularly use those services — should support them with their votes. For those who do use the libraries, their support at the ballot box and in encouraging friends and neighbors to vote, is even more vital.
Return your ballots with a yes vote for Sno-Isle Libraries levy.
April 24 special election
To find the nearest Snohomish County ballot drop box go to tinyurl.com/SnoCoBallotBoxes.
Sno-Isle Libraries have scheduled a series of levy election open houses:
Lynnwood and Marysville libraries, 6 p.m., April 11;
Mukilteo and Stanwood libraries, 6 p.m., April 12.;
Snohomish, Lakewood-Smokey Point and Coupeville libraries, 10:30 a.m., April 14.
For more information and an online open house, go to tinyurl.com/SnoIsleLevyInfo.
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