West Richland to vote on new way to pay for library

West Richland residents will vote on whether to change the way the city pays for its library Nov. 8, a proposition supporters say is needed to prevent a substantial reduction of services.

“If this proposition doesn’t pass, as citizens we understand there are not funds to pay for Mid-Columbia Libraries,” said library supporter Lynn Neitzel-Cleavenger.

The city has a contract with the Mid-Columbia Libraries for services at the library on West Van Giesen Street.

In an unusual funding arrangement, West Richland pays for the contract primarily with a utility tax approved by voters in 2003 — a 2.5 percent fee on telephone, electric and gas bills.

But revenue has flagged as residents canceled landlines in favor of mobile devices and data plans, which are not taxable. Recent mild winters and more efficient homes also have reduced utility tax collections.

In 2015, the utility tax generated about $365,000 for library services. The 2016 contract with Mid-Columbia Libraries is nearly $400,000, which does not include the city’s cost to maintain its library building.

The proposition on the ballot would drop the utility tax and replace it with a property tax increase of 45 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. It works out to about $7.50 a month, or $90 per year, on a $200,000 house.

But because the utility fee would be dropped, the net increase has been estimated at about $15 a year for a typical West Richland household.

Some of the levy funds — about 7 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation — would be retained by the city to cover the cost of maintaining the library building.

Supporters of the ballot measure said low- and fixed-income voters likely would pay less under the proposed tax plan than the current structure, according to their statement in the Benton County voter pamphlet.

In addition, the property tax could be deducted on federal tax returns and utility fees cannot.

Residents can use an online calculator at library.westrichland.org to compare their costs under the current utility taxes versus the proposed property taxes.

As it became apparent that the utility fee could not cover the cost of the 2016 library contract, a committee, which included Neitzel-Cleavenger, was formed to study the issue.

It concluded that continuing to work with Mid-Columbia Libraries — which has 12 branch libraries throughout the Mid-Columbia — as it has for 48 years would be the least costly. Other options included contracting with the city of Richland, which is not a member of Mid-Columbia Libraries, or switching to a private library operator.

West Richland also considered annexation into the Mid-Columbia Library District.

Continuing with a contract was picked as a better choice to allow the city to maintain control over the levy that would pay for library services, Neitzel-Cleavenger said.

The ballot proposal is a quality of life and a potential economic development issue, according to supporters.

“If we expect business to invest in our community, we need to be a community willing to invest in education of our citizens,” Neitzel-Cleavenger said.

She’s used the West Richland library since she was a child and now works as a librarian at Tapteal Elementary School in West Richland.

“The staff of Mid-Columbia Libraries know my kids,” she said. They attend Tapteal events and promote programs within the school.

West Richland residents checked out more than 170,000 items in 2015 and used the digital service at a rate three times greater than the rest of the system. The digital collection includes books, magazines and audiobooks that can be downloaded over the Internet.

Other services include public computers, high-speed wireless Internet, programs for children and adults, homebound services for the elderly or ill, and delivery of items on request from the entire Mid-Columbia Libraries system to West Richland for checkout.

This story was originally published October 23, 2016 at 6:02 PM with the headline "West Richland to vote on new way to pay for library."