County Commissioners delay library proposal, saying it is too expensive

The Boulder County Commissioners Thursday balked at backing a proposed library district for unincorporated areas of the county, saying the potential tax increase needed to fund the district is too much of a financial hit for many residents.

“I absolutely understand the need to have a well-funded library district for Boulder County,” Commissioner Claire Levy said Thursday. For some people, Levy added, paying a little extra on their property taxes for the district is the “price of a latte.”

“But a lot of people I hear from are struggling to hang on in this community,” Levy said. “I need to speak for them.” 

She and fellow commissioners Matt Jones and Marta Loachamin voted to table a resolution that would put the Boulder-based library district on the November ballot. They asked that county staff work with the city of Boulder to rework the proposal to scale back the cost of the district and to take a more incremental approach to its funding.

The commissioners said they could not support a 3.8 mill rate to fund the Boulder-based district, which would fuel a property tax increase of about $27 annually per $100,000 of a home’s taxable value. The tax hike would generate about $20 million to fund library expansion, say proponents.

But the county is likely to go to the ballot to ask for funding for other key needs for residents, Jones said. “The library is really important, but transportation and housing are also important, ” he said.

 The Boulder City Council earlier this week voted to put the library district to voters this fall. 

Proponents say the district would tackle a facility maintenance backlog and restore library hours to pre-pandemic levels. Plans also call for opening up a library branch in Gunbarrel and Niwot.

Some in Niwot have indicated they would rather be connected to a proposed Longmont library district and not one centered in Boulder, Loachamin said. “I would like to hear more from (organizers) of the Longmont district and see their plans,” she said.

A proposal for a Longmont library district is expected to be placed before the city council either later this month or early May, Deputy City Manager Sandi Seader said Thursday.