Huntley library may ask for tax hike in spring

Huntley voters may experience a bout of déjà vu when they cast their ballots in the spring.

That's because the Huntley Area Public Library District may again ask voters to approve a tax increase - just five months after the library's last tax hike failed.

The library board will meet at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 17 to vote on whether to place the question on the ballot.

"The need's still there, and I think as time goes by, more and more people see that," library Director Virginia Maravilla said Thursday.

The library's last attempt to raise taxes failed in November when voters rejected a request to issue $9.5 million in bonds to triple the size of the library.

The request would have cost the owner of a $250,000 home an additional $60 in the first year.

It appears the ballot question library trustees are considering would ask for the same amount and that the funds would be used for the same purpose.

"We really haven't discussed a different amount," Maravilla said.

The library director said she and other officials were encouraged that the margin by which November's ballot question failed was smaller than the margin of defeat for the library's failed 2005 referendum.

Officials also are looking at ways to cut costs in the face in declining revenue from taxes, investments and other sources, the library director said. "We're having some challenges with revenue just like other people," Maravilla said. "We're going to be looking at everything to see if some aren't as effective."