Council to consider library tax proposal
TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
The Maryville City Council tonight will hear a presentation proposing a property tax increase to an existing 16-cent levy earmarked for the support of the Maryville Public Library. According to library Director Stephanie Patterson, 85 percent of the library’s approximately $275,000 annual budget comes from property tax. The institution also receives financial support from its Friends of Library organization, the Maryville Public Library Foundation, and private donations. Some funding is also provided by state appropriations, occasional grants, and patron-paid fines and fees.
The Maryville City Council during its regular session on Monday will hear a presentation proposing a property tax levy increase for the Maryville Public Library.
Eighty-five percent of the library’s approximately $275,000 annual budget comes from the existing property tax paid by Maryville residents at the rate of 16.07 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
The library also receives financial support from its Friends of Library organization, the Maryville Public Library Foundation, and private donations. Some funding also comes from state appropriations, occasional grants, and patron-paid fines and fees.
According to materials submitted to City Hall for review by library Director Stephanie Patterson, the library wants to ask voters to approve a 12-cent increase to the current levy during the April 4 municipal election.
The documents state the increase would cost the owner of a house with a commercial value of $100,000 an additional $1.90 a month, or $22.80 a year.
If the measure is approved, tax bills for local property owners would increase by 1.5 percent.
Currently the library levy accounts for about 2 percent of all Maryville property tax revenues, which are also collected on behalf of the R-II School District, the City of Maryville, Parks & Recreation, Nodaway County, and the State of Missouri.
Patterson said the library has not asked voters to approve a levy increase since 1962, and that passage of the tax hike would provide the institution with an additional $150,000 a year.
She said that money would be used to hire a full-time education professional charged with creating and strengthening literacy programs serving both the Head Start early childhood program and local public schools.
The new revenue would also provide funding for an expanded book collection, additional digital resources, and the hiring of a part-time bookkeeper, which Patterson said would allow her to spend more time writing grants and working to improve library operations and services.
Other proposed expenditures, she said, embrace capital improvements and building maintenance, including creation of a better workspace for patrons using the library’s on-site computer area.
Patterson said earlier that the library recently had to dip into reserves in order to pay for extensive roof repairs at its facility, a former post office and federal building located at 509 N. Main St.
If the election request moves forward, it will be the second library-related issue placed before voters within the last two years.
In April 2015, Nodaway County citizens living outside Maryville soundly rejected a plan to create a countywide library system, an expansion that would have been paid for with a 15-cent per $100 of assessed valuation tax levied on property owners in all 15 townships.
Had it passed, the proposal, while slightly lowering library taxes for Maryville residents, would have produced an estimated $250,000 in additional revenue, nearly doubling the institution’s budget.
In other business on Monday, the council is expected to:
· Hear the formal second reading of and vote on a proposed ordinance approving the issuance of $7.7 million in Certificates of Participation, a form of debt that will be used to finance a $4 million conference center at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park and a $3 million comprehensive replacement of municipal water meters.
· Approve the $15,000 purchase of a used truck and new utility bed, which will be used by the city’s Central Garage Department mechanic.
· Approve the $5,000 purchase of a new snowplow.
· Approve an ordinance enacting a voter-renewed half-cent sales tax, revenues from which are earmarked for maintenance, operations, and development at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park.
· Vote on an ordinance executing a contract with ZENON Environmental Corp., which is to perform a facilities audit of the municipal water treatment plant.
· Pass an ordinance establishing a voter-approved transient guest tax in the form of a 5-percent surcharge added to local hotel bills. Revenue derived from the tax will help finance construction of a new multipurpose athletics facility at Northwest Missouri State University and provide funds for various initiatives designed to enhance tourism and economic development.
· Discuss the city’s existing half-cent capital improvements sales tax, which is scheduled to go before voters for renewal during the April 4 municipal election.
