Library District in limbo

On April 23, the Boulder City Council and the Boulder County Commissioners could not reach a consensus on finalizing the Boulder Library District proposal. The fate of the proposed district now likely depends on residents living in Boulder and some parts of Boulder county, during the November election.

Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett and County Commissioner Claire Levy met to discuss a possible path forward after both governing bodies conducted a joint hearing earlier this month.

According to Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett, he and Levy had a good conversation and worked together in good faith. But at the end of the meeting the two representatives could not agree on a funding model, among other issues.

The city council voted in favor of the library district, which would include Niwot and Gunbarrel, in a 6-3 vote. However, the county commissioners would rather have a hybrid funding model, where the city could fund the library partially through sales tax revenue rather than solely with a property tax mill levy.

The Boulder Library Champions, a group which has been pursuing formation of a library district for several years, plans on reinitiating the petition process that would put a measure to form a library district on the ballot this fall.

"Voters should be asked to provide a single, stable funding source for libraries this fall," the Champions said in a statement after the county's public hearing.

"Continuing to rely on sales tax generated within the city of Boulder for the bulk of library funding would continue the same approach that has hindered the library for more than 30 years," the statement continued. The group is also working to include the mill levy, projected to be 3.8 mils, or $27 per year for every $100,000 of real estate value, in the district proposal.