Schaumburg library looking at referendum
Schaumburg Township District Library officials have begun seeking public input on a plan to seamlessly replace a tax hike from 15 years ago that allowed construction of the current building in Schaumburg with another such hike for operations.
The '90s bond issue that financed the building is due to expire in 2012, but library trustees have long discussed the possibility of making a tax increase for operations dovetail with that to make it a break-even for taxpayers.
Some members of the citizens advisory panel are suggesting making the new tax less than the old one, library board President Robert Lyons said.
Library Director Stephanie Sarnoff said that when the current tax increase expires, the library will lose about $1.83 million in annual revenue. Taxpayers will experience such a tax cut on their bills if a referendum is not held or if a tax increase is rejected by voters.
For the moment, though, the library is studying the possibility of a replacement increase that would bring in $1.7 million. If this plan proves both viable and acceptable to voters on April 5, it would provide a much smaller reduction in taxpayers' bills.
Lyons said he appreciates the selling point of being able to replace one tax hike with a lower one, but wants to make sure the amount asked for will be sufficient and not require another referendum in a few years.
The reason for a tax hike is not only the library district's rising operational costs, but the fact that some large maintenance issues are already looming for the now 12-year-old "new" library, Lyons said. Among these are eventual replacement of the library's roof, heating and air conditioning systems, and carpeting.
And one disappearing source of revenue is the $280,000 per year the library receives for the sale of its old building to Bethel Baptist Church. That building is nearly paid for, Lyons said.
"There are a number of different things that are going to cost us more," Lyons said. "We can see that the revenue we have now isn't going to be enough going forward."
The citizens advisory panel is currently made up of 29 residents intended to come from all walks of life and able to provide different insights on the issue, Lyons said. While no one with Tea Party ties appears to be in the mix, the perspective of such members would also be constructive, Lyons said.
But even without that perspective, the group is asking to study the library's budget of the past few years.
They've also asked what the immediate consequences would be of the additional revenue not being secured. Lyons said he was not trying to make it sound like a threat when he replied that reducing Sunday hours would be the most obvious way to make up for a shortfall.
Officials plan to soon open the discussion to an even wider segment of the community in a series of open houses at each of the district's branches.
The first round of these open houses will be held at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20 at the library's Hoffman Estates branch at 155 Hassell Road; at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21 at the central library at 130 S. Roselle Road in Schaumburg; and at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Hanover Park branch at 1266 Irving Park Road.