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Gail Borden Public Library’s ‘no tax’ rate increase wins by huge margin

Gail Borden Public Library's zero tax rate referendum is ....
Gail Borden Public Library's zero tax rate referendum is .... (The Courier-News)

Gail Borden’s “no tax rate increase" referendum appears to have won decisively Tuesday night, according to unofficial election results from Kane and Cook counties.

More than 63% voted in favor of the referendum — 10,364 yes votes to 6,049 no votes, according to vote totals Wednesday morning. All 64 precincts in Kane and all 18 precincts in Cook have been reported.

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In Kane County, about 62% of voters approved the referendum and in Cook, 59% of voters did the same. The library district includes Elgin, South Elgin and parts of Hoffman Estates, Streamwood and Bartlett.

“Thank you so much to everyone in this community. Your support in yesterday’s election means so much to the future of our library district,” library officials posted on the library’s website Wednesday.

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Library officials wanted voters to approve a “swap” of property tax revenue. Tax money being collected to pay for construction bonds would be diverted to the library’s operations budget when the construction bonds are paid of in 2021. Gail Borden has been paying $2.6 million a year to repay the bond money used to build the North Grove Avenue library and the Rakow branch, both in Elgin.

“It’s a little different kind of referendum. It is not for a tax hike,” Executive Director Carole Medal said at an informational meeting regarding the ballot measure earlier in the year.

“Rather, a homeowner’s library tax rate would not increase with the passage of this referendum. The rate would stay the same, but additional funds would be made available for operations.”

Just under 5% of a homeowner’s tax bill goes to the library district. If the referendum is approved, that percentage would stay the same.

Property owners pay 48.6 cents per $100 equalized assessed valuation in library taxes, with 8.8 cents of that amount used to pay down the bonds. If the referendum passes, the 8.8 cents would go to the operating budget instead.

If the referendum fails, the owner of a home valued about $192,000 will pay about $4 less in library taxes.

Library officials have said the agency needs additional money for operating costs, as well as funds to support an increased demand for programs and services, the state-mandated minimum wage increase, IT infrastructure, building maintenance and capital projects.

One thing the library board would like to do in the future is the 4,200 square-foot South Elgin branch.

A November 2019 community survey found 99.1% of people believed the library needs to maintain its grounds and facilities, 98.3% believed the library is important to the community and 93.5% found the library valuable to their household.

raguerrero@tribpub.com

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