Library District to try for tax initiative again

Jeffrey Libby

Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2002 | 9:26 a.m.

The Henderson Library District on Thursday will ask the Clark County Debt Commission for a place on the November ballot in the hope that voters will reconsider a special tax to raise $80 million over 30 years for six new libraries.

The Debt Commission is expected to approve the measure for the November ballot, said Henderson Councilman Andy Hafen, a board member of the Debt Commission.

This year, however, the competition for voter support could be even stiffer. The Regional Transportation Commission on Feb. 14 could approve a plan to ask voters in the Las Vegas Valley for $2.5 billion over 25 years to fund new roads and buses.

Joan Kerschner, Library District director, is concerned by the potential request, but said the district has made progress since November and will show the roughly 180,000 residents in its area a more succinct picture as to what their money will buy. In most cases, she said, the district has secured land for the six proposed libraries and has completed preliminary architectural design work.

"The need for funding hasn't lessened since we asked for funding before," Kerschner said. "We're just hoping more information will sell our case."

The new tax would continue for 30 years. Home owners would be taxed $14 annually for every $100,000 of the home's taxable value.

In August the district opened the Paseo Verde Library, Henderson's fourth branch and its first new building since 1989. More than half the shelves were empty and, of 80,000 books, more than half were supplied by nearby Lydia Malcolm Library.

A similar request for funding fell short in June, as 61 percent of those voting said no to the special tax.

At that time the library tax was up against two other tax initiatives -- a proposed $80 million Clark County children's hospital and a request for a public safety tax to raise $850 million. Voters, facing rising costs for electricity and gasoline, rejected those proposals as well.

The Debt Commission ensures that no municipal agency proposes a tax that would exceed 90 percent of the state mandated cap on property taxes. If approved, the library tax would boost taxes for Library District residents to $2.92 per $100 of assessed valuation. The cap is $3.27. com