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Painful chapter: County makes no promises(Gazette, The (Cedar Rapids, IA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Jan. 8--CEDAR RAPIDS -- Either people in Cedar Rapids will reach deeper into their pockets, or the library is in trouble. That was the message at a town-hall meeting last night in which nearly 400 people filed into pews at the First Presbyterian Church, 310 Fifth Ave. SE, to show support for the Cedar Rapids Public Library and hear discussion of its future. Facing another round of budget cuts that could mean loss of staff and closure of the westside branch at Westdale Mall, library officials invited five public officials to speak after a handful of library users appealed to the audience on the library's behalf. State Sen. Rob Hogg, DCedar Rapids, was asked how he will act to ensure the library's future. The best way for the library to get the money it needs, he said, is for Cedar Rapids to do what Iowa City, Waterloo and Davenport have already done: approve a library levy of 27 cents per $1,000 in assessed value, the maximum allowed by state law. Cedar Rapids' library levy is now only 4 cents per $1,000. Des Moines has no library levy. "Get ready to get it on the ballot as soon as you can," Hogg said. The discussion took place under the shadow of larger financial problems in the city of Cedar Rapids, which pays for 84 percent of the library's $4.5 million budget with property tax money. City expenses are growing at least three times faster than income, and the library is just one of several public services facing further cuts. "The community supports the library, the council supports the library, but there's only so much money," Mayor Kay Halloran said. Linn County Supervisor Linda Langston also made no promises, pointing out that the county faces a tight budget year, and that it already gives far more to libraries than is required by law. Despite the dismal outlook, library board Vice President Susan Corrigan said the meeting was a success because it started a public dialogue. She began the meeting with a speech outlining the library's challenges and the board's vision for it. "Just like we invest in infrastructure, we need to invest in people," she said. "The public library is one key way that communities invest in the education of their residents." She pointed out that the library is an economic development engine, by generating foot traffic downtown and helping spur retail growth. It's also the number one downtown destination, and its circulation is growing. One solution raised several times throughout the night was the possibility that thestate Legislature could authorize cities like Cedar Rapids to raise money in other ways besides property tax -- for instance, local income or tobacco taxes and fees for some city services. That the city must rely only on property taxes is the root of the problem, City Council member Brian Fagan said. But whether the library makes up its funding shortfallthrough private donations, an increased levy or alternative funding, it still comes out of people's pockets. "As a community, we've got to decide what our priorities are," Corrigan said. "Is this important?" State Sen. Tyler Olson, D-Cedar Rapids, also spoke at the meeting. ¦Contact the writer: (319) 398-8273 or [email protected] To see more of The Gazette, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.gazetteonline.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |