Library District Update

On April 5, in a joint session, the Boulder City Council and the Boulder of County Commissioners (BOCC) held a public hearing on whether to create a library district which would include all city of Boulder residents as well as residents of unincorporated Gunbarrel and Niwot, and extend as far west as Jamestown. After more than seven hours of an online hearing in which speakers were limited to two minutes, the city council approved the plan by a vote of 6-3. The plan would include Gunbarrel and Niwot in the district, and the budget includes branch libraries in both locations. However, the decision to place the question on the ballot is not finalized yet.

"The city council left it up to the county to decide whether to include Niwot or not in the library district. So, it's still up in the air," said Gene Hayworth, co-owner of Inkberry Books and former librarian at CU. During the discussion following the testimony, the county commissioners were hesitant to include Niwot in the proposed library district, as Niwot residents who contacted the commissioners strongly favored becoming part of a Longmont library district rather than a Boulder library district.

Niwot resident Neal Anderson voiced his disapproval of forming the Boulder library district, as he would favor a Longmont library district instead. "Longmont has all the services I need. It is surely closer. I don't have to fight through Boulder traffic and the parking is ample and free," he said.

The Niwot Community Association (NCA) conducted a survey from March 15 to 31, to raise awareness of the library district proposal, and to find if members and non-members owned a library card. From the 111 collected responses from validated members, only 7% said they own a Boulder library card and only 10% of them said they've used it either weekly, monthly, or once this year. Meanwhile, 40% said they own a Longmont library card and 43% of them said they've used it weekly, monthly, or once this year. According to the survey, 84% of the validated members voted no on the proposed tax increase, as the current proposal recommends a property tax mill levy increase of $26 to $27 per year for every $100,000 of assessed residential value.

The Boulder Library Champions, who have long advocated for a library district in Boulder, indicated that the increase would raise $20 million, the required funding for the library.

Commissioner Claire Levy is concerned about the economic impact the library will have on those who are struggling financially. "What prevents me from being able to proceed with the resolution as drafted with that mill levy is that for many people [the increased tax cost] might be a daily latte. But for people I hear from and people who I feel obligated to look out for and speak on behalf of, they're struggling to hang on in this community," she said.

"As of now, the next thing that has to happen is the county commissioners have to vote," Hayworth said after the city council vote. "And if they vote in favor of the district, then the next step would be to see whether or not there are any differences between what the city council members would like to see and what the county commissioners would like to see. And if there are any differences, they would have to negotiate the outcome."

Two days later, at its meeting on April 7, the BOCC questioned the proposed 3.8 mill levy increase and whether Niwot should be included in the proposed Boulder district. The BOCC also noted that Jamestown should be dropped from the original proposal as no taskforce ever collected data on whether residents wanted to be included in the district or not. Following a discussion, the BOCC voted to table the issue and directed staff to provide more information. No date was set for reconsideration of the proposal.

The Boulder Library Champions indicated that they will be continuing their efforts to establish a Boulder library district.