Staff from 10 of Sussex County’s 11 independent libraries are asking County Council to raise the tax to provide more financial stability to their operations.
Library staff presented their request during public comment at this week's Council meeting. They suggested either raising the library tax to cover budget shortfalls or establish a library working group to address the libraries’ growing needs if the tax increase is not possible.
Georgetown Library director Rachel Culver.
“As one of the 11 independent libraries in Sussex County, we are truly appreciative of the county’s support, which enables us to provide services and resources to the community. So much more than books: Our library provides home school history lessons, book clubs, chair yoga, health resources and more. Beyond these programs, the Georgetown public library brings additional value as your neighbor just around The Circle.” she said.
Some libraries, like Georgetown Public Library, report having an increase in their budget by around 25% each year, with no current way to offset those increases
The ask comes just ahead of the council’s budget season, Councilman Steve McCarron says the council is taking the ask into consideration.
“I agree the libraries do very good things in Sussex county, I’ve had meetings with different libraries throughout the year, and I’d like to continue that and hear the good things the libraries are doing. At the same time, let’s work towards taking a look at maybe how we can help out going down the road.” he said.
The libraries called for a library tax increase of around half a cent per $100 of property value, which they say would generate another $2.5 million dollars annually.
For a property valued at $400,000, the increase would result in a total library tax bill just over $18 per year.
Library staff have also asked that council consider a library working group if the tax increase isn’t in the cards this year to help explore ways that libraries can keep costs down and maximize their current funding.
