University Heights to vote on library tax

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS – Chris Luzzie checks out material at the Iowa City Public Library weekly, and she wants to be able to continue to do so.

The small town of University Heights, where she lives, does not have a library, so the town contracts with the nearby Iowa City and Coralville public libraries.

The city pays for the service in part with a tax levy that voters first approved in 2005. The levy is back on the ballot in the Nov. 8 election, this time to have it stay in effect indefinitely. A simple majority is needed for it to pass.

Passage would let the city continue to set the levy at up to 27 cents per $1,000 taxable valuation. For a $200,000 home in University Heights, that's $26.21 this fiscal year.

“So it's not a lot – about the price of a hardcover book,” said Luzzie, 59.

She thinks it is a good deal for residents, and their use of the libraries would indicate that's a widely held belief.

About 1,000 people live in University Heights, which is surrounded by Iowa City, and they have about 660 library cards with the Iowa City library and another 120 with Coralville.

University Heights residents checked out 18,458 items last fiscal year, 90 percent of them from the Iowa City library and 10 percent from Coralville, according to Susan Craig, director of the Iowa City Public Library.

Also, the 2005 library levy was approved by 88 percent of voters. The University Heights City Council recently passed a resolution encouraging residents to vote “yes” this year in support of the levy.

Before the levy took effect, University Heights residents could pay for Iowa City and Coralville library cards and get reimbursed for the cost by the city of University Heights.

But that was not a cost-efficient arrangement for the libraries or the city, said Alison Ames Galstad, director of the Coralville Public Library. Now, neither library offers cards for a fee, so without a contract in place, University Heights residents would not be able to check out materials from the libraries.

The levy will generate about $14,000 this fiscal year, and library services will cost University Heights about $33,000, according to the city. The difference is paid for out the city's budget.

“It works out great,” Ames Galstad said. “It means everybody in University Heights can use either library.”