Hamilton County voters doubled library taxes last year. Here's what you'll get for your money this year

Scott Wartman
Cincinnati Enquirer

Last year, Hamilton County voters agreed to more than double what they pay for libraries.

Take the owner of a $100,000 home. He or she will now pay $63 a year in property taxes to the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, up from $28. All and all, it's an increase that's expected to bring in $19 million more a year for libraries.  

The Enquirer sat down with Paula Brehm-Heeger, who became the new library director in October, and discussed what's ahead for the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County in 2019.

A focus of the chat: What will taxpayers get for their money in 2019? 

More public meetings

You'll have a chance to weigh in this year on where the library should spend its money. 

To come up with a plan, the library board voted in December to hire Group 4 Architecture, Research + Planning Inc from San Francisco for $250,000-$500,000. 

Library Director Paula Brehm-Heeger

The cost has yet to be determined as a contract hasn't been finalized, officials said. 

Group 4 and the library will host public meetings throughout 2019, hopefully starting in February, Brehm-Heeger said. 

More:Should you double the amount you pay for Hamilton County's libraries? Top questions surrounding upcoming levy

More:Construction on run-down Price Hill Library begins in 2019

In 12-18 months, Group 4 will develop a plan for what upgrades, maintenance and changes the public wants from the library. 

"Thanks to the generous support of taxpayers for the levy from last spring, we have an opportunity to be very intentional and thoughtful in looking at what our facilities do, where they are and get that right," Brehm-Heeger said.

First renovation in a century for Price Hill

Cincinnati's libraries are old. Some really old. Seven branches are over the age of 100, two of which have never been renovated.

A plan from 2016 showed the library has $54 million in maintenance needs among its 41 branches. The levy will help pay for these needs. 

Top on the priority list is the 110-year-old Price Hill branch library on Warsaw Avenue.

The library remained open on a hilltop from 1909 until July 2018 when a chunk of ceiling fell onto the main floor. 

It's sat shuttered since.

Meanwhile, the Price Hill branch has operated out of a temporary space in the Price Hill Community Recreation Center. 

As a result, the Price Hill library remains the No. 1 renovation priority for the library system. Construction will start in the second half of this year, Brehm-Heeger said. 

The exact cost and scope of what will be done to the library haven't been determined. 

The library will also move forward in 2019 with planning renovations to the Madisonville and Walnut Hills libraries. Walnut Hills, built in 1906, is the oldest library in the Hamilton County system that has never been renovated.

New furniture

The cost of furnishing 41 libraries also adds up. Replacing all the worn, broken and outdated furniture in all the branches would cost $4 million, according to the library's maintenance list. That's why many library branches still have the original chairs and tables, some more than 50 years old, Brehm-Heeger said. 

Brehm-Heeger pointed to the wooden chairs and desks at the Forest Park branch. When it was built in 1969, they were high-end. After a half-century of use, they show their age.

"I think their facilities, in many cases, they'll be refreshed," Brehm-Heeger said.

The lights will stay on

If taxpayers didn't pass the levy, library officials have said, they'd have to look at cutting branches and staff. 

Over the past decade, the cost of local libraries across Ohio has shifted to local property owners. 

That's because in 2008, the Ohio General Assembly changed how it paid libraries. Rather than give libraries a cut of the state's income taxes, the Ohio Public Library Fund now gives libraries 1.68 percent of all general revenue taxes in Ohio.

This, however, has meant less state money for libraries in Hamilton County and the rest of the state. 

From 2008 to 2009, Cincinnati's library lost $8 million in state revenue, a 17.8 percent drop.  

That all means that the additional $19 million from the levy now accounts for one-third of the total budget for the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2019/01/14/hamilton-county-voters-doubled-library-taxes-last-year-heres-what-youll-get-your-money-year/2485882002/
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