Voters approve library levy
Renewal, increase will generate about $783K per year
Community Engagement Manager Tina Sabol explains why the Medina County Library District wanted voters to approve a 1.5-mill levy. Photo by GLENN WOJCIAK
MEDINA – Voters showed their support for the Medina County Library District by approving a 1.5-mill levy in the May 2 primary election.
Unofficial results from the Medina County Board of Elections indicate 7,741 people voted to approve the levy and 3,907 people voted against it. That equates to 66.4 percent of voters favoring approval.
The levy represents the renewal of an existing 1.25-mill levy plus a 0.25-mill increase that will generate about $783,000 a year to fund operations. The new levy will cost owners of a $100,000 house about $45 a year in real estate taxes, about $9 more a year than they are paying for the current library levy.
Library Director Carole Kowell thanked voters for approving the levy. “We pledge to be fiscally responsible with your tax dollars and continue to provide you with the best materials, latest technology, outstanding programming and the services you want,” she said.
Community Engagement Manager Tina Sabol said more than 100 volunteers campaigned on behalf of the library and were critical in winning voter support for the levy. “We are so pleased the people of Medina County see the value in their libraries and want to maintain a dedication to literacy and the sense of community our libraries provide,” Sabol said. “We look forward to serving Medina County for another 10 years.”
The library operates on an annual budget of about $9.7 million, 60 percent of which is funded by the current levy. However, operating costs exceeded revenue by about $400,000 in 2015 and put the library in the position of finding additional revenue or trimming operating costs. The library had a $5.7 million balance at the end of 2015, which allowed it to absorb the budget deficit without cutting services.
Voter support for the library levy comes as a relief to Kowell, who said she did not want to see the level of service drop off at any of the district’s six branches in Medina, Brunswick, Lodi, Seville and next to Highland and Buckeye high schools.
Part of the reason the library was facing a deficit is cuts in state funding. State support for public libraries has dropped 16 percent since 2008 when it was $450.6 million. The Ohio Library Council reports it dropped to $381 million in 2015 and was projected to be down to $379 million last year.
The Medina Library’s share of that state support was about $3.5 million in 2015. The 1.25-mill levy approved by district voters ago generated about $4.8 million for library operations in 2015. The current 1.25-mill levy was last approved by voters in 2007 and expires at the end of this year.
Unofficial results from the Medina County Board of Elections indicate 7,741 people voted to approve the levy and 3,907 people voted against it. That equates to 66.4 percent of voters favoring approval.
The levy represents the renewal of an existing 1.25-mill levy plus a 0.25-mill increase that will generate about $783,000 a year to fund operations. The new levy will cost owners of a $100,000 house about $45 a year in real estate taxes, about $9 more a year than they are paying for the current library levy.
Library Director Carole Kowell thanked voters for approving the levy. “We pledge to be fiscally responsible with your tax dollars and continue to provide you with the best materials, latest technology, outstanding programming and the services you want,” she said.
Community Engagement Manager Tina Sabol said more than 100 volunteers campaigned on behalf of the library and were critical in winning voter support for the levy. “We are so pleased the people of Medina County see the value in their libraries and want to maintain a dedication to literacy and the sense of community our libraries provide,” Sabol said. “We look forward to serving Medina County for another 10 years.”
The library operates on an annual budget of about $9.7 million, 60 percent of which is funded by the current levy. However, operating costs exceeded revenue by about $400,000 in 2015 and put the library in the position of finding additional revenue or trimming operating costs. The library had a $5.7 million balance at the end of 2015, which allowed it to absorb the budget deficit without cutting services.
Voter support for the library levy comes as a relief to Kowell, who said she did not want to see the level of service drop off at any of the district’s six branches in Medina, Brunswick, Lodi, Seville and next to Highland and Buckeye high schools.
Part of the reason the library was facing a deficit is cuts in state funding. State support for public libraries has dropped 16 percent since 2008 when it was $450.6 million. The Ohio Library Council reports it dropped to $381 million in 2015 and was projected to be down to $379 million last year.
The Medina Library’s share of that state support was about $3.5 million in 2015. The 1.25-mill levy approved by district voters ago generated about $4.8 million for library operations in 2015. The current 1.25-mill levy was last approved by voters in 2007 and expires at the end of this year.
