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Library's 2-mill levy filed with Board of Elections; Owner of $100,000 home currently pays about $31 a year, would be asked to pay $61 annually

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by Mike Lesko

Associate Editor

Stow -- Although a continuous 2-mill levy on the May ballot for the Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library is new, voters will only pay an additional $30 more annually than what they already are now.

Currently, the owner of a $100,000 home pays $30.63 a year in property taxes for the library on its present 1-mill levy.

If the new levy is approved, the owner of the same house would pay $61.25 a year. That equals $5.10 a month or 17 cents a day.

The ballot issue was filed Jan. 29 with the Summit County Board of Elections.

"It is never easy to place an issue on the ballot," Board of Trustees member David Renninger said. "But after many long conversations, we need to ask the voters of Stow and Munroe Falls to support the library.

"Our funding has been drastically cut [by the state], even in these times where we are seeing record usage of our services," Renninger said.

Nearly 308,000 patrons entered the library in 2009 -- about 10,000 more than in 2008.

However, since 2008, library funding from the state has been reduced by 12 percent, according to Ann Malthaner, head of public relations for the library.

Despite decreased state funding, Malthaner said the library has worked to maintain a balanced budget and operate within anticipated revenue.

Since April 2009, the library has had a hiring freeze and no pay raises, has increased patron fees and fines, reduced its materials budget by $85,000, closed one day a month with unpaid staff furloughs, eliminated 46 magazine and three newspaper subscriptions, extended the life cycle of PCs, reduced library supplies by 24 percent, reduced part-time employees' hours, and performed only emergency building maintenance.

According to Malthaner, if the library does not obtain additional operating money in May, the library may only be open as few as three days a week, might reduce staff by 30 percent to 50 percent and continue a wage and hiring freeze, decrease library material purchasing, eliminate outreach services to 15 assisted living facilities and 14 daycares, eliminate free computer classes, and reduce library services to the public such as the drive-up window.

E-mail: mlesko@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-686-3917