Sugar Grove library asks for bigger budget

On Feb. 5, the Sugar Grove Public Library will ask voters to approve its first operating rate increase since being established in 1963.

It isn't that the library has never sought the increase.

Residents have turned down the request five times.

Still, officials are hopeful. The library is seeking an increase in the operating budget to 25 cents per $100 of equalized assessed property valuation, up from the current rate of about 9 cents.

The optimism is due to the fact that the library has selected a site for its new facility, and plans for the $8 million, 27,430-square-foot building have been carefully constructed and presented to the village board and to the public.

"District residents showed their support for a new building," said Art Morrical, president of the Sugar Grove library board. "I'm confident they understand that an operating rate increase is essential for the library to continue to be an asset to the community."

Voters approved funding for the new library in 2004, but continued to vote down an increase in the operating budget. Library boosters believe that many voters denied the request because of the uncertainty of the site of the new building.

The last request went before the voters last April. The library board announced selection of the 5-acre site at Snow Street and Municipal Drive in July. After the new site became a sure thing, the library board and staff made sure the referendum was scheduled for Feb. 5, the first possible date.

"The timing is perfect," said Beverly Holmes Hughes, library director. "If the voters approve the increase, the funds will be available in July 2009. We will be moving into our new building in the fall of 2009. If the voters don't approve the increase, we will still be moving into the new building but it will be problematic."

The library cut service hours, staff and programs in January 2007 after the request failed in November, 2006, a move it's hoping to avoid in the future.

"When we move into the new building, we expect a dramatic increase in our circulation," Hughes said. "This means we'll need more staff per hour. The new building gives us the space for a large collection and more programs. A new budget will ensure that the building will be a vital and active one. We want to use the whole building, not just part of it.

"I know there is a lot of economic uncertainty now," she added. "But our question is a known factor. Our residents know what the impact will be. It's an investment from which they can reap the benefits."

The cost

The Sugar Grove Public Library is asking voters to approve an operating budget rate increase to 25 cents per $100 of equalized assessed property valuation. The current rate is about 9 cents.

Below are estimated increases for annual property taxes if the new rate is approved.

Home Fair-Market Value

Increase

$200,000 $105

$250,000 $130

$300,000 $157

$350,000 $183

$400,000 $210

Since 2000, the library district population has increased by 129 percent; funding for the library has increased 79 percent.

Library district population

6,747 in 2000

15,476 in 2006

129-percent increase

Library cardholders

2,020 in 1998

5,602 in 2007

177-percent increase

Source: Sugar Grove Public Library

Project details

The new 32,000-square-foot library to be built on a 5-acre parcel on Municipal Drive and Snow Street would replace the existing 6,600-square-foot facility at 54 Snow St. The cost of construction and purchase of the land is $8 million.

The site can accommodate an additional 35,000 square feet of expansion in the future.

Features include a reading room with a fireplace, a teen room, a porch and a patio.

Source: Cordogan, Clark & Associates