PREBLE COUNTY — The Preble County District Library has a 1-mill replacement property tax levy on the Nov. 5 ballot Preble County residents will be asked to approve.
According to PCDL Director Lauren Robinson, per $100,000 property value, tax payers will pay $35 per year.
This is an operating levy which, if approved, will be in place for five years.
“I feel this levy is needed, because — as everyone knows — the cost of services keep going up. We have eight locations in the county to provide services and maintain buildings. We want to keep our services as they are, and also to expand with the growing needs of the community,” she said.
“We decided to put a replacement on, instead of renewal, because we did need extra money in our budget to be able to grow. We are asking our tax payers to support the library with our growth, providing more services, and to continue the services we have.”
She added, the PCDL’s first 1-mill levy was passed in 2010, so this replacement levy will bring property values to current levels.
The additional funds generated will be used for programming, purchasing books, maintaining buildings, digital services, and potentially mobile hot-spots.
Marketing Coordinator Clayton Jaros added, the library currently provides free programming for Preble County. The PCDL is hoping to expand those services, but programming costs money.
“You obviously can’t have these people in without funds. So that is one of the things we’re hoping to do, is offer more of those programs. More fun, informational programs that people can come in and enjoy,” Jaros said.
Robinson added, “We want to bring the world to Preble County, so the youth in Preble County can experience things at their local library for free.”
PCDL does make an effort to find ways to bring all this programming to Preble County in a cost-effective way.
“We’re always looking for the best deal with materials we bring in. We use multiple vendors, we certainly do not stick to a vendor because we’ve used them in the past. We try to find the most bang for our buck,” Robinson said.
“The Preble County District Library strives to be a member of the Preble County community and to provide services that are needed in the community. We want to provide something that will bring everyone in to visit us. That is something we take seriously: making a welcoming space for everyone in our community and making them feel they can find one thing with us they are passionate about.”
Preble County District Library has locations in Eaton, Camden, New Paris, Eldorado, West Manchester, West Elkton, and West Alexandria.
