Sugar Grove library again asking for tax increase

The Sugar Grove Public Library is holding another referendum April 7 asking for a tax rate increase to bolster what leaders say is a budget that is inadequate to staff the new library building.

The library has asked for an increase eight times, including last Nov. 4, and is still looking for a "yes" vote from residents. The rate increase would be 11 cents per $100 of equalized assessed property valuation, more than doubling the current rate of 9 cents.

The rate is now limited under the property tax cap at about 9 cents. The proposal would result in an increase of about $100 in the first year for the owner of a $300,000 home.

Despite the past lack of success and the current economic gloom, Tina Cella of Sugar Grove is optimistic. She is vice president of the Friends of the Library, and she is running for a seat on the library board.

"There's a good possibility," she said regarding whether voters will approve the request.

"If you look back at the numbers over the years, we were getting very close," Cella said. "But November's election brought out a lot of people who were voting for president, and many of them didn't give a hoot about the library. The people who care about local issues are getting informed. And they can see the new library being built."

The November vote was 4,851 to 2,662 against the proposal.

Voters approved the funding for the $8 million, 25,500-square-foot library under construction on Municipal Drive in 2004. Those funds cannot be used for operating expenses.

The new library is set to open in August 2009, and library director Beverly Holmes Hughes is concerned about staffing if the voters say no again.

"If we do not get approval for the increase, we'll have to decide what kind of hours and staffing we will have at the new library," Hughes said. "If we can't pay the staff, can we get enough volunteers? And how will we add collections to the shelves?"

Hughes said that residents who vote in April will be voting "for the future of the library" and would not see the increase in their tax bill until spring of 2010.

Hughes said she is available to speak to individuals or groups about the referendum.

"I'm always glad to talk about the library, she said."