Library levy needs explanation

Hey, it's just 23 bucks.

That's an estimate of what a 27-cent library property tax levy would cost the owner of a $150,000 home in Cedar Rapids. Backers of that tax levy turned in more than enough signatures this week to put it on the November ballot.

'If you think about that, that's two books per year. Would you buy two books a year for the library?” said Christine Casey, a VP at Wells Fargo who also is co-chair of Our Library, Our Community, the group pushing for the 27-cent levy.

I've seen a lot of ballot issues come and go. And, based on my experience, portraying a tax increase as a doorbuster bargain is among the least effective sales pitches. I'm not blaming Casey, because it's a very common argument.

Truth is, most people don't see taxes as a bargain. They're a daily burden. Putting even $23 bucks on top of that burden is no small thing. The best way to make it more palatable is to explain, in detail, what a community gets for that added burden, and what it loses if it chooses to stick with the status quo.

If I were Our Library, Our Community, that's how I'd spend the nearly $50,000 it's collected in campaign contributions, according to its July campaign finance filing. That includes $20,000 from the library's own foundation, $10,000 from United Fire Group, $10,000 from Diamond V Mills and $3,000 from Bankers Trust, along with assorted individual gifts.

We'll also hear often that 77 Iowa communities charge the 27-cent levy, including Iowa City, Cedar Falls, Waterloo and Davenport. But it's also true that among Iowa's largest metro libraries, just three of 10 collect it. So why, exactly, should Cedar Rapids? Again, that's really the only question that matters to taxpayers who will be paying the freight.

The levy would raise $1.6 million annually, providing both the downtown and west side Ladd Library with a more robust, stable source of funding. Will it reduce the amount of money now siphoned from the city's general fund to cover the library's $6.3 million budget? How will those dollars improve and expand library services, grow collections and boost programing?

Will hours and services be curtailed if the levy fails? A previous 4-cent levy expired in 2013, and the city says stopgap funding to replace lost revenue dries up in 2016.

The question for voters is what are your priorities? We learned in March 2013 locals wanted a casino to draw a million gamblers, and in November 2013 they were willing to fork over pennies for streets. Are they willing to pay more in taxes to support a pair of libraries that drew 660,000 patrons last year who checked out nearly 1.4 million items? We'll see.

I suspect opponents will dredge up old arguments against building the new downtown facility, which have nothing to do with the future. As for the future, they'll say, who needs libraries?

'I think there's less books in the library and more people. And I think that it's no longer a repository for books, it's a collaboration space. It's a community space,” said David Tominksy, a campaign co-chair who manages the Iowa Startup Accelerator. He and others must now convince the community to pay for it.

l Comments: (319) 398-8452; todd.dorman@thegazette.com