Antitax Group Strives to
Shut Down County Library
A group of antitax crusaders says it has gathered enough signatures to add to the November ballot an initiative to eliminate the Stevens County (Wash.) Rural Library District. Supporters of the measure say they are tired of paying property taxes for services they don’t use and that are becoming increasingly obsolete given the Internet and discount bookstores, the New York Times reported August 20.
Real estate agent Dave Sitler complained that “with all the property I own, I’m probably paying up to $500 in taxes for the library, and that’s just $500 wasted on something we don’t need.” Further, he said, the head librarian’s $51,000 salary is too high. “The salaries they pay those librarians, with health benefits and all that, it adds up,” he said.
Library supporters argue that the average county household pays approximately $38 a year in property taxes; only about 150 taxpayers—mainly large corporations—pay more than $300 a year. They also point out that library use is up: The county system adds about 220 new patrons every month and is projected to circulate nearly 300,000 books this year, double that of two years ago.
Director Regan Robinson said, “We’re seeing a disconnect in our society. People don’t understand that you need tax money to pay for the public good. I’d like to see someone face the women I see every day with three kids and a stack of books and tell them they can’t have a library anymore,” she said.
Posted August 26, 2002.
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