Once again, libraries proved popular in Tuesday's election, as voters approved 12 of 14 library levies on the ballot throughout Ohio. That's an 86% passage rate.
Ohio Library Council Executive Director Michelle Francis said she's thankful for that, especially when many families are struggling to pay property taxes for schools, safety forces and other services. But Francis said the new levies that passed were not necessarily for new services.
“A lot of those levies are just to maintain current programs and services because of other loss of funding," Francis said in an interview.
Ohio's public libraries lost around $25 million in expected funding in the most recent budget, as the state changed from 1.7% of the General Revenue Fund to a fixed appropriation determined during each budget cycle. It could be subject to line-item veto. Lawmakers also included in the budget the elimination of new replacement levies for library systems and other entities as part of their efforts to lower property taxes, and overrode Gov. Mike DeWine's veto of that provision.
The levy passage rate might be surprising when you consider there’s a move afoot to put a constitutional amendment before voters to abolish property taxes. Ohio lawmakers have been considering around a dozen bills to deal with property taxes that have ballooned in recent years. And House Bill 137 would allow local taxing authorities to review and even reject library levies before they even are presented to voters.
Francis said a recent study showed more than 90% of Ohioans said they think libraries provide services that are important to their local communities.
