Dispute Over 8.6 Percent Hike To Library Tax Levy Delays Budget

EVANSTON, IL — A divided Evanston City Council decided to postpone a final decision on the its budget until its next meeting, due to take place a few days before the final deadline to submit tax levies for next year. After disagreeing whether to approve the Evanston Public Library's request for an 8.6 percent increase in the property tax levy for its operating fund, alderman moved to hold the matter until their Dec. 11 meeting.

The library operates with a volunteer board appointed by Evanston's mayor. It sets its own budget and city council can decide whether or not to approve its requests to issue bonds. The library board had already approved a $6,965,750, up from $6,412,610 in its 2016 levy. City Manager Wally Bobkiewiecz told aldermen Evanston needs to provide the ordinances setting next year's property tax by Dec. 15 in order for next year's tax levies to be collected by the county.

Ald. Tom Suffredin, 6th Ward, elected this year and voting on the library's budget for the first time, said he would vote no because of that structure.

"I support the library's mission, I support the library's staff, but I have a problem with an appointed board," he said.

Ald. Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, and Ald. Judy Fiske, 1st Ward, expressed concern that the library was not sharing the burden of budget cuts with the rest of the city.

Although the vote was to approve a tax levy for the library's operating expenses next year, much of the discussion among aldermen Monday related to the library's long-term capital spending plans.

"At what point do we approve or disapprove of their capital project?" Wynne asked the city manager.

"You do not," said Bobkiewicz, who explained he learned a great deal about laws governing Illinois libraries several years ago.

"But, you would be back here a year from now approving a capital levy for the library, because the library board would move forward with the budget they have already approved," he said.

"I want to accomplish everything you want to accomplish, but we have to do it, I think, a little bit more responsibly and be able to justify it to our constituents, who are the taxpayers footing the bill," Fiske told Library Director Karen Danczak Lyons.

"We continue to look for ways to conserve costs." Danczak Lyons said. "We have not gone to design development fully or to bid documents because we don't know your level of support." She said it would be possible to schedule a planned 18-month main library renovation project over a three-year period to lower its annual costs.

"I want the council to be comfortable with the decision. I understand that this is a major ask to upgrade the main library, and I am happy to come back to this group or to individuals – with or without the architect – to lay out in more detail. To be fair," Danczak Lyons told the council, "I've been trying to do that for a couple of months and we haven't been able to do it."

Ald. Peter Braithwaite, 2nd Ward, described the library as a very important resource and asset in town. He said his son spends more time in the library than any other public facility.

"It's through his eyes that I really understand how important it is, not only for the larger community but also for our youth in town," Braithwaite said.

"Through our conversations, I know that you're going to be very mindful of the spending and if there's a way to save money I know that you're going to take advantage of that," he told Danczak Lyons.

Rainey said the library was given a chance to subject its operating budget to the same degree of cost-saving scrutiny the rest of the city's spending has undergone.

"My concern is that no one even tried to take a stab at reducing that amount. Not even a little stab," she said. "When I spend days looking at this thing trying to figure out where we can get money here, where we can get money there, did anybody at the library do that? I don't know."

At least four aldermen signaled they were not ready to support the library's budget. Three said they supported it. Ald. Eleanor Revelle and Ald. Robin Rue Simmons did not disclose which way they intended to vote during the discussion at the Nov. 27 council meeting.

Ald. Don Wilson, 4th Ward, said it is high time to step up and make needed commitments to infrastructure.

"How many conversations have we had about equity and fairness? Okay, these services, despite your efforts – and your efforts are outstanding – but the fact of the matter is we, as the nine or 10 people sitting up here, and as a community haven't made a full commitment to that," he said. "That's what we're not doing, we're not making a full commitment to the entire community's access to these resources." He said the reason the council no longer controls the library's budget is because alderman were so abrasive toward its volunteer board.

"My vote is based on what I believe is financial responsibility," said Ald. Cicely Fleming, 9th Ward. "I don't feel comfortable getting us so close to our debt limit – although I understand that we can raise it – but I know that we're also trying to not raise taxes."

"We're going to have to pay for this at some point which I can only assume means raising property taxes, which nobody wants...I think this is not the year to put this kind of money into one building" Fleming said, disagreeing with 3rd Ward Ald. Melissa Wynne's claim the council has been "starving" the library. She said Skokie and Wilmette have much nicer libraries and spend more per capita than Evanston.

"I am staggered, I'm ashamed at how poorly we have funded our library over all the years," Wynne said she was amazed how much Evanston's libraries accomplish "given how little money they operate on."

"This is not a luxury item that we're doing. We have been starving it for years," Wynne said. "It's time we properly funded it when the funding was needed and that is now."

"The reason why our libraries have suffered," Rainey said, "is that we have so many libraries." She said the uncomfortable truth was that money has been spread around various buildings instead of spent wisely.

"It's just like dumping money down a rathole," Rainey said. "It's really kind of a slap of a face on the citizenry to come in and say we have to raise taxes 8.5 percent, or whatever it is. It's just not necessary. It could have been done a different way."

_{Top photo Evanston City Council | Patch archive | Jonah Meadows}