[Libs-Or] Library Nov. 8 election results

Wed Nov 9 16:32:37 PST 2016

I want you all to know that my heart is broken for the staff and patrons of the libraries that are situated in the south.  Harold and I just talked last week.  These are real life situations and people are hurting.  That said, it is too easy for those of us who live in areas, where people are more willing to pay for their services, to believe what’s going on in the southern part of the state, won’t creep north.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

n   MARTIN NIEMÖLLER

From: Penelope Hummel [mailto:penny at pennyhummel.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2016 4:25 PM
To: Ted Smith <t.smith at newportlibrary.org>; libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
Subject: Re: [Libs-Or] Library Nov. 8 election results

Thank you, Ted, for sharing your thoughts.  Since you mentioned Multnomah as an example, I do want to set the record straight on their historical and current sources of funding (if I get any of this wrong, someone who is currently at MCL please chime in).

Prior to the passage of the library district, MCL’s funding was derived from a series of serial levies (passed every few years) and an annually shrinking portion of the county’s general fund (originally based upon an existing library levy that was rolled into the county’s permanent tax base when the statewide property tax limitations went into effect years ago).

While it’s true that the passage of the library district replaced the general fund contribution as well as what was generated by the serial levies, it is at a significantly higher rate than the previous levy—so, when Multnomah County residents approved their library district, they were most definitely raising their taxes.  As a longtime Multnomah County resident, I would say that Portlanders in particular are pretty comfortable with increasing taxes to pay for the services they/we want—obviously, we’re somewhat of an Oregon unicorn in that respect, and thus not a good model for the rest of the state.

For the county’s part, one incentive they had in establishing the library district was that they would then no longer need to give the library money out of the general fund.  So, it was a win/win for all entities:  the library got a stable and adequate AND completely independent source of funding, and the county had one less mouth to feed out of the general fund.

If there are other Oregon libraries that have utilized the strategy you’ve suggested (finding a way to back out already existing taxes to be dedicated to public libraries), I would be interested in knowing about them too.

Thanks--

Penny Hummel
Penny Hummel Consulting  (also a proud past president of the Friends of the Multnomah County Library!)
penny at pennyhummel.com<mailto:penny at pennyhummel.com>
503.890.0494

www.pennyhummel.com<http://www.pennyhummel.com>

From: Ted Smith <t.smith at newportlibrary.org<mailto:t.smith at newportlibrary.org>>
Date: Wednesday, November 9, 2016 at 3:24 PM
To: 'Maureen Cole' <mcole at ci.oregon-city.or.us<mailto:mcole at ci.oregon-city.or.us>>, Penelope Hummel <penny at pennyhummel.com<mailto:penny at pennyhummel.com>>, "libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us<mailto:libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us>" <libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us<mailto:libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us>>
Subject: RE: [Libs-Or] Library Nov. 8 election results

God bless Douglas County and Fern Ridge for trying.  And for Josephine for trying earlier.   I’m gonna get my ass chewed for this ….

Maybe this is already being done/discussed/old news?  … We need to somehow figure out a way for citizens to vote for permanent levies for our  library districts by  “backing out” some. or all, of the funds from the property taxes already being paid to county coffers, that go to support the library.  What I mean is that we need to show that property taxes overall will not increase because the money – or at least a large portion of it -- will be taken from tax dollars the county already allocates from its general fund for library support.  I believe that’s what Multnomah County did.  And maybe that’s the way all these library district funding votes work – I might be the only one on the planet who doesn’t know this.

I know we have counties like Josephine where next to nothing is allocated to county libraries, so my thoughts don’t apply in those cases.

We just need to get in a position where citizens get as close to a neutral tax as possible for funding library districts.  We must be able to separate those taxes from County budgets and not LET the Counties be in a position where they say, “Hey, we no longer have to fund the library.  They got their own pot of money, we have freed up funds.  What can we spend them on now?”

Here’s a real life story on how this works and MaryKay can hate on me later.  Also, I know that sales tax is anathema in Oregon.  Yea, I know sales tax is regressive and hurts those least able.  That’s why only about 48 states do it.  This is just a story so bear with me.

In Nebraska, cities are allowed to charge up to 1.5 cents/dollar for sales tax.  One city near and dear to my heart went to the voters with a 1.5 cent sales tax proposal, based upon the promise that property owners would see a relational drop in their property taxes.  This new tax passed with over 75% support.  It worked out great for everyone because this particular city is a shopping hub and a lot of nonresidents spend money in town (no out of towners spending any money in Oregon are there?  Maybe this IS about sales tax)  Anyway, I digress.   This 1.5 cent added tax was actually a tax neutral win for the property owners (and renters, because rents decreased) and raised a lot of extra dollars for the city because of the high volume of out of town shoppers.

In for a penny … I have lived my whole life on the tax payers dime.  In college, I worked at a university hospital, I drove a bus for two municipalities and I’ve been a librarian for over 30 years.  We public servants know where our support comes from and for someone to say “I can’t afford this shit anymore” – especially when that someone has been supported by tax dollars his entire life – well that just seems treasonous.  The truth is, “I can’t afford this shit anymore.”  Oregon is absolutely insane in its practice of making property owners pay for everything.  When I retire, I will be moving out of state because I can’t afford the freaking property taxes on my home.

The Nebraska town I referenced above is doing a 4 million dollar addition to the public library because the voters chose to dedicate 1 penny of that 1.5 cent sales tax (for three years) to go to the library and only to the library.  Everyone who shops in the town is paying for this renovation.  Not just property owners.  Had the library tried to pass a bond to increase property tax to support this renovation it would have fallen flat on its face.

Now sad to say that I don’t know if the statutes allow for people to vote to pull property taxes used by an overriding taxing entity like county governments for the purpose of dedicating  those same dollars – and maybe a little more – to serve as a permanent levy to support a library district.  But my guess is that down south people are not going to vote for added taxes.  We’ve got to come up with a way to fund libraries in as close to a tax neutral way as possible.

By now, I’ve either confused the hell out of you and/or pissed you off.  I’m not the tea party, but the you can only go to the well so many times before it runs dry.  If it is not obvious, it should be that someone better come up with some kind of reasonable tax solution in this state, cause just letting every taxing entity add 3% to property owners tax bill every year ain’t cuttin’ it.

We can all be frustrated by the outcome of the two library proposals, but none of us should be surprised.

From: Libs-Or [mailto:libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] On Behalf Of Maureen Cole
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2016 11:15 AM
To: Penelope Hummel <penny at pennyhummel.com<mailto:penny at pennyhummel.com>>; libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us<mailto:libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us>
Subject: Re: [Libs-Or] Library Nov. 8 election results

Yes, so so sorry you all. Wish it had turned out differently!

From: Libs-Or [mailto:libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] On Behalf Of Penelope Hummel
Sent: Wednesday, November 9, 2016 9:54 AM
To: libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us<mailto:libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us>
Subject: Re: [Libs-Or] Library Nov. 8 election results

Love and light to the staff and supporters of the Fern Ridge and Douglas County libraries.  Thank you for all your efforts to make your communities the best they can be.  I am so sorry that this was the outcome.

Penny Hummel
Penny Hummel Consulting
penny at pennyhummel.com<mailto:penny at pennyhummel.com>
503.890.0494

www.pennyhummel.com<http://www.pennyhummel.com>

From: Libs-Or <libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us<mailto:libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us>> on behalf of Ferol Weyand <ferol.weyand at state.or.us<mailto:ferol.weyand at state.or.us>>
Date: Wednesday, November 9, 2016 at 9:45 AM
To: "libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us<mailto:libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us>" <libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us<mailto:libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us>>
Subject: [Libs-Or] Library Nov. 8 election results

Unofficial November 8, 2016 Election Results as of 8:00 a.m. November 9, 2016.

If any library measures were missed please contact Ferol Weyand in Library Support and Development at the Oregon State Library. Ferol.weyand at state.or.us<mailto:Ferol.weyand at state.or.us>. Phone 503-378-2525.

Measure 20-258 – Library District Five-Year Local Option Levy for General Operations – Lane County
QUESTION:  Shall Fern Ridge Library District levy $0.50 per $1,000 assessed value for operating purposes for five years beginning in 2017-2018?
This measure may cause property taxes to increase more than three percent.

SUMMARY: A yes vote would return library services to 53 hours per week; 3,500 book purchases and 400 video purchases per year; programs for children and adults remain the same; periodicals and materials remain the same.

Yes (35%)   No (64%)

Measure 10-145 – Concerning formation of the Douglas County Library District – Douglas County

Question:  Shall the district be formed with a permanent rate limit for operating taxes of $0.44 per $1,000 of assessed value?

Summary: If approved by the voters, the Douglas County Library District will be created to provide public library services. A yes vote on the question creates the district with the stated tax rate, beginning with the 2017-2018 fiscal year (that is the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2017). If created, all of Douglas County and all cities within Douglas County will be included in the district, with the exception of the cities of Sutherlin and Elkton (which will not be included).

This tax rate is a permanent maximum; the district is not required to assess the full rate.

Yes (44%) No (55%)

http://results.oregonvotes.gov/

Ferol Weyand
Library Support and Development Services
Oregon State Library
250 Winter St. NE
Salem, OR 97301-3950
ferol.weyand at state.or.us<mailto:ferol.weyand at state.or.us>
Phone: 503-378-2525 FAX: 503-378-6439
_____________________________________________________ Libs-Or mailing list Libs-Or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us<mailto:Libs-Or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us> http://listsmart.osl.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/libs-or Hosted by the Oregon State Library. The Library is not responsible for content. Questions related to message content should be directed to list owner(s) or the sender of the message, by phone or email. Technical questions? Call 503-378-8800.
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