10 Year Tax Decision

Hamilton County taxpayers will see a levy to support local libraries on the November ballot, but it won’t raise taxes.

Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County officials decided Thursday to seek a 10-year levy, which will replace the current five-year levy that runs out at the end of next year.

It’s estimated to cost the same $30 a year per $100,000 value of a person’s home.

“It just seemed like the right length of time,” said Library Director Kimber Fender. “It gives us the stability of funding we need to do planning, but it’s not so long we can’t adapt to changes in the future.”

Ten years is longer than the typical five-year levy cycle. Only the Hamilton County Parks levy – which was for 15 years – and a continuing levy that pays for the police data system used by all law enforcement agencies in Hamilton County are longer.

There had been been discussions about asking for a permanent levy, which would have ended the need for periodic voter approval. But that idea was met with skepticism.

In particular, Hamilton County Commissioner Greg Hartmann, a Republican, reached out to Library Board President Bill Moran to share Hartmann’s opposition to a permanent levy.

While commissioners have no say in what the library can ask voters for, they do appoint four of the seven library board members.

“Levies are taxpayer dollars and I would never support a perpetual levy,” Hartmann said. “Things change. A review by taxpayers makes sure money has been spent wisely and is still needed.”

Moran explained that a longer cycle helps curb the expense of a levy.

“Anytime you have a vote, you want people to support it and that means yard signs and advertising,” he said.

All together the county’s 11 levies cost the owner of a $100,000 home $384.91 a year.

Library levies are on the rise statewide, going from 119 in 2010 to 173 in 2011. That's partly due to state cuts, according to Ohio Library Council Director Doug Evans.

The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County was awarded the 2013 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the nation's highest honor recognizing museums and libraries.

More than 500,000 people hold cards in the library system; at least one person in 88 percent of households in Hamilton County has one.

They levy is expected to bring in $17.8 million this year, which is a third of the library’s $57 million revenue.