Niwot to hold library district town hall

A public meeting to discuss an issue that could be on the November 2022 ballot is coming to the Left Hand Grange (195 2nd Ave.) next month. On March 8, representatives from the Boulder Public Library will lead a town hall on a pending proposal to create a new library district in the county, and what it might mean for Niwot.

"Because Niwot is currently included in the Boulder Library District proposal, I wanted to make sure that people in town have a chance to ask questions and express their interest or concerns directly to those involved in moving the Boulder Library District forward," Inkberry Books co-owner and meeting organizer Gene Hayworth explained in an email. "I arranged to give David Farnan, the director of the Boulder Public Library, and Library Foundation CEO, Chris Barge, an opportunity to discuss the proposed Boulder Library District and to take questions from the community."

Under Colorado state law, a library district is a governmental entity formed for "the acquisition, construction, financing, operation, or maintenance of publicly supported library services on a regional basis." It is typically funded by a mill levy, a type of property tax, but funding the district has to be approved by the residents within its boundaries.

The move to create the Boulder Library District began in 2018, after serious concerns arose about the library's financial future. Currently, the BPL system receives most of its operating revenue through an allocation from the city's general fund, which is variable from year to year and subject to pressure from other municipal priorities. According to the 2018 BPL Master Plan, a districting scheme would raise enough money annually to cover current operating costs for the five existing branches (Main, Carnegie, Meadows, Reynolds, and North Boulder), plus allow for expansions in programming, acquisitions, and staffing. It would also help clear deferred maintenance and repair backlogs associated with aging facilities. Eventually, there would also be adequate funding for new facilities in Gunbarrel and Niwot, depending on community interest. The money currently allocated to the library in the city's budget would then be freed up for other channels, such as police or firefighting.

In May 2021, Boulder City Council voted unanimously to move forward with creating a library district, and then formed a 12-member panel of community members to evaluate key elements of the plan and make recommendations for implementing it. Following a series of eight meetings in late 2021, the Library District Advisory Committee (which includes Niwot realtor Deborah Read Fowler and Gunbarrel resident Miho Shida) determined that to provide an expanded level of service, build new branches, and get the library on a path to "financial sustainability," the system would need approximately $19.5 million in funding annually. To raise it means a new annual mill levy of 3.7 to 3.8 mills on property within the district, which translates to around $26 per $100,000 of assessed residential value in 2022, or an additional $210 for a home in Boulder County valued at $800,000.

The LDAC shared its recommendations with the Board of County Commissioners and the city council earlier this month, and the plan is currently scheduled for public hearings before both in the first week of April. If the council and commissioners then vote to approve the plan, the library district will be created via an intergovernmental agreement (IGA), but the question of whether to raise property taxes to fund it will go to voters, thanks to Colorado's TABOR law. If the funding measure does not pass in 2022, it can be added to the ballot for up to three subsequent election cycles.

As of now, Niwot is included in the Boulder library district's boundaries, but it could be removed in the final version of the proposal if there is not enough community interest in the initiative, Hayworth said. He hopes the March 8 meeting will get the community engaged with the district issue, and help them make an informed decision if and when it comes time to vote.

"As a librarian of 20 years and as someone whose early education was forged in community libraries, I am an avid supporter of this proposal," he said. "If we are included in the Boulder initiative and the ballot proposal passes, I hope to see a community library here in Niwot in the next few years."

Hayworth has also been involved in recent efforts by Longmont to create a library taxing district, but said those plans are still in the early stages. As a result, the advisory committee there has agreed to cede Niwot to Boulder, at least for now.

"The Longmont Library District committee also wanted to include Niwot in its proposed district boundaries, and I was concerned this might result in a "turf war" over Niwot," he said. "I played a small role in connecting members of the Boulder and Longmont groups, and because Boulder was so much further along in its process, the Longmont group decided they would not include Niwot in their own proposed district... If for some reason a ballot proposal does not pass, there is still the possibility Niwot could be included in a future Longmont initiative."

The library district town hall is scheduled for Tuesday, March 8 at 7 p.m. at the Left Hand Grange. For more information about the proposed Boulder Library District, visit the “Creating a Library District”page at BPL's website.