Two southwest suburban library districts are asking residents for more operating dollars, and two others are seeking more patrons in Nov. 5 referendum questions.
In Frankfort and Wilmington, residents will be asked to approve higher tax rates to maintain service levels at their libraries and meet their growing populations’ demands for more service. In Justice and Willow Springs, voters will be asked to approve the annexation of Willow Springs into the Justice district.
Lorrine Novak, administrative librarian at the Frankfort Public Library, said the library has paid increasing prices for staffing, supplies and building maintenance with a tax rate that has not changed since 1966.
A change in the operating tax rate to 0.003 from 0.0015 would add about $82.50 to the tax bill of a resident who owns a home with an equalized assessed valuation of about $200,000, Novak said.
If voters say yes, the estimated $488,528 in new revenue that would be added to the library’s $697,395 operating budget could finance “things that people are asking for,” Novak said.
The Wilmington Public Library also needs more money to keep services up to standard, Director Mary Jane Anderson said.
“We need it for basic library expenses,” Anderson said of the proposed tax rate increase to 22 cents per $100 of equalized assessed valuation from 15 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. An increase would cost the average taxpayer about $23 a year, she said.
The library’s $175,000 annual budget would be boosted by about $75,000 if voters approve, she said.
The bulk of the extra funds would finance a computer system that would tie the library and its patrons into the larger regional library system.
The proposal to annex Willow Springs to the Justice district seems to be a win-win proposition for both towns, library Director Rachelle Bell said.
“Not only is it a chance for us to grow, but it is a chance for people in Willow Springs, especially families with young children, to gain library service,” Bell said.
Justice tax bills would not be affected, and tax bills for Willow Springs residents would go up $36 to $100, Bell estimated.
