(Posted Oct. 12, 2016)
By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
Mount Sterling Public Library leaders hope voters will pass a levy that would generate additional funds for the library’s operating expenses.
The 0.4-mill, five year levy, set for the Nov. 8 ballot, would be the first source of local levy funding in the library’s history. Currently, the library relies almost entirely on state allocations. This year’s budget was $212,000. Of that, $200,000 came from the state and the rest from fines, fees and donations.
If passed, the levy would generate $28,759 per year and cost the taxpayer $14 per year per $100,000 of property valuation.
As for how the money would be used, Director Chris Siscoe said, “We’re just trying to focus on what we hear people tell us. They want to see us keep the building in good shape. They always want us open more hours. And they want more materials, especially digital materials.”
In a previous levy attempt, the library put the issue out to voters in its entire coverage area, which is the Madison-Plains Local School District. The area covers a sprawling 247 square miles. Siscoe said thousands of residents who live on the area’s edges don’t use the Mount Sterling library because they live closer to libraries in other towns.
With that in mind, library leaders decided to put the levy on the ballot in Pleasant Township only this time around. The township includes all of the village of Mount Sterling.
“Seventy-three percent of our card holders are in the Mount Sterling area,” Siscoe said.
Part of the community for 103 years, the Mount Sterling Public Library is located at 60 W. Columbus St. and online at www.mtsterlingpubliclibrary.org.
