PARKERSBURG -Brian Raitz, director of the Wood County/Parkersburg Library, asked Wood County commissioners to consider placing a five-year, $2.2 million levy on the May primary election ballot.
Citing the length of the primary election ballot and the fact revenues raised by the levy would not be forthcoming until 2013 anyway, Wood County Clerk Jamie Six recommended the levy be placed on the November general election ballot instead.
If passed, the cost to a homeowner with a residence valued at $100,000 would be $6.48 annually.
"This is a levy for the libraries alone. I specifically spelled out what the funds would be used for. I couldn't put in some of the construction costs because we don't have exact numbers on that yet. I was told after the last election by some voters that if the library alone had been asking for the levy, they would have voted in favor of it," Raitz said. Three entities went for the levy the last time, the libraries, Veterans Museum and Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport.
"We have been facing, which I'm sure you have as well, cuts in library funding. We are looking at another cut from the state again because of the new census figures. Our demand has not gone down. We are trying to address the need for expansion on southside. We have a 1972, 1,200-square-foot facility that is not adequate for 24,000 people," Raitz said, noting changes also need to be made at the Emerson Avenue library entrance and more staff is needed for children's programming and services. "We currently have 1.5 people serving 13,000 children in the community," he said.
Raitz noted they also want to expand services in ebooks and eAudiobooks, add weekend hours at Williamstown, restore cut hours at Waverly, restore cut hours for the bookmobile; increase deliveries at the Vienna library, and expand sharing of materials between the libraries. With the $2.2 million levy, after allowance for tax discounts, delinquencies, exonerations and uncollectible taxes. The library would actually receive $453,000.
Such a levy requires a 60 percent approval to pass.
"Back in the late 1980s the Legislature mandated a specific amount, so-many-cents-per-hundred the county had to be paid, and as the appraisals increased over the years, the library reaped the benefits of that. While others were rolling their levy rates back, the library continued to receive the increase. I was very supportive of this levy being on the ballot the last time. My concern is the primary ballot is already so large, plus even if this passed in May, it would not go into effect until 2013, so delaying it until November in that regard isn't going to make any difference. So if you are going to allow this be placed on the ballot, I would at least request you consider putting it on the general election," said Six.
Raitz noted boards of education were permitted to pay their contribution to the library out of their regular levy. After a Kanahawa County lawsuit, legislation was passed in which boards were allowed to move it to their excess levy and they chose to do so.
"That expires next year and I'd rather we not have two levies out there at the same time. It would be very confusing, and that's why I'd rather we do it in the spring," Raitz said.
"I'd rather see it on the fall ballot," Commissioner Wayne Dunn noted.
Commissioner Steve Gainer said he also favored the fall ballot.
"The only benefit I would see is that if it failed in the spring, you could have a second chance in the fall," Couch noted.
"It's been our practice that when anyone asks to have something on the ballot, we allow it, but if that's not the commission's will, we can delay it," Couch noted.
The commissioners asked Raitz to return in the fall to renew his request.
The deadline for ballot issues for the May primary is Feb. 21.
