Election 2002: Henderson questions

Thursday, Oct. 17, 2002 | 11:32 a.m.

The proposed 4-cent tax increase by the Henderson Public Library District, part of an effort to improve its books-per-person average -- currently worst in the state -- may seem familiar to Henderson residents.

That's because the tax that would fund construction and operation of six libraries over 30 years is the same one floated unsuccessfully in June 2001. But that effort came in far different political winds.

Then, voters came to the polls with no candidates to vote for, just three multimillion-dollar tax increases that they trounced: an $80 million Clark County children's hospital, an $850 million Henderson public safety tax and the library tax, which would raise about $80 million over 30 years.

Now, the library question is sandwiched among state and national political races that will likely attract a different mix of the electorate.

The proposed tax would increase the yearly tax on the owner of a $150,000 home by $21, bringing it to about the same rate Las Vegas and Clark County homeowners pay for libraries.

The Henderson Public Library District says the tax would raise about $2.5 million annually. The first priority would be to buy books, according to district Director Joan Kerschner.

Today the district supplies just one book per person. When the Paseo Verde Library opened in August -- the first new library building for the district since 1989 -- two-thirds of its shelves were empty.

Additional money from the tax would go toward remodeling the James I. Gibson Library and the construction of new libraries in the River Mountain and Anthem areas. The district has secured land and completed preliminary designs for the two libraries. Four additional libraries would be built by 2012.