Helen Plum board to seek property tax increase to build new library

Lombard voters will decide this fall whether to approve a property tax increase to build and operate a new Helen Plum Library.

The board has agreed to seek voter permission to borrow roughly $22.3 million in tax-backed loans to demolish the more than 50-year-old library and construct a new one on the existing site and a vacant lot it owns just west on Maple Street.

Trustees plan to adopt a measure later this summer to place the question on the ballot in the November presidential election.

The revenue from the permanent property tax increase also would pay for operational costs from running a new library almost double the size of the current building.

If voters approve the increase, the owner of a $200,000 home would pay about $131 in additional property taxes to the library annually. At the earliest, the increase could roll out on bills received in 2017.

The debt is expected to be paid off by the library in 20 years. Financial consultants have initially recommended that the library earmark $1.7 million annually to cover principal and interest payments on the loan and to build up reserves in its capital project fund.

Even after the debt would come off its books, the library would still collect the extra tax revenue unless trustees opted to levy for a smaller amount.

"But that kind of cuts their feet off, too, because then you get in the same situation as we are now, because ... you can't build up," library Director Barb Kruser said.

In a 6-0 vote Tuesday, the board favored replacing the Helen Plum Library over three other options. Trustee John Larkin did not attend Tuesday's meeting.

"I think that the replacement is a much better use of the money," board President Virginia Carlson said. "And you end up with a whole new building and all new infrastructure, and you have things built to current library standards."

The three alternative projects trustees rejected were:

• An $8.2 million remodel within the library's existing footprint. A tax increase to fund the renovations would have cost the owner of a $200,000 home about $73 more a year.

• A $20.8 million expansion of the library funded by a tax increase that would have cost that homeowner $127 more a year.

• A $25.9 million new building - plus underground parking - funded by a property tax increase that would have cost that homeowner $143 more a year.

If voters sign off on the tax increase, construction of a new Helen Plum Library could begin in fall 2017. The proposed footprint would cover 51,800 square feet, up from the current 33,700.

Library leaders have not yet identified where employees would temporarily relocate during construction.

Library: Trustees rejected three alternative projects