Early voting will begin Tuesday to decide whether to lower and extend the Little Rock library tax.
The Central Arkansas Library System is asking Little Rock voters for permission to refinance a series of bonds that will reduce the overall millage that property owners pay, while also extending the payment on the bonds by a few years.
That refinancing would generate between $15 million and $17 million for projects at Little Rock libraries. The vote won't affect libraries in the system's other areas of coverage in Pulaski and Perry counties.
Early voting starts Tuesday and will last from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays through July 13 at the main voting site, the Pulaski County Regional Building downtown at 501 W. Markham St.
On the day of the July 14 special election, all 59 Little Rock polling stations will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The funds, if approved, will be used to buy more computers, books and add to other collections, as well as build additions onto three branches and purchase Internet-related technology upgrades.
"Generally speaking, the library provides a whole lot of services. They do them pretty reasonably. If you look at the growth of the system over the past seven to eight years, it's really growing at a rapid pace, which is a good thing, but then you have to find ways to add more funding. That's where we are now," said library system Executive Director Bobby Roberts.
Refinancing a series of 2008 and 2009 bonds is an inexpensive way to expand the system, he said.
If approved by voters, the current 1 mill that Little Rock property owners are assessed on those bonds would decrease to 0.9 mill and the payment period would be extended another four years past the current end date.
A mill is one-tenth of 1 cent, with each mill producing $1 in tax revenue for every $1,000 of taxable property.
For a homeowner with a $100,000 house, annual library taxes would be reduced from $102 to $100.
In all, Little Rock property owners pay 5.1 mills for library bonds or operations now. The proposal would decrease that overall amount to 5 mills. The bond payoff date of 2028 would be extended to 2032, though Roberts says the likely payoff is several years sooner.
City Board of Directors members have indicated support for the refinancing. The board voted unanimously to approve the special election. Ward 6 Director Doris Wright said the deal is a "win-win" for everyone.
About $7.5 million of what would be generated through the refinancing would be dedicated to building upgrades at the Dee Brown Library, the John Gould Fletcher Library and the Roosevelt Thompson Library, as well as smaller-scale improvements to the Main Library and the Sue Cowan Williams Library. The upgrades at Brown, Fletcher and Thompson will add at least 2,000 square feet to the libraries.
"They are all 8 to 10 years old. They just reached their capacity. They can't handle all of the business we have. We need more space," Roberts said.
The community's Internet need has also outgrown the library system's capacity. Computer wait times can often reach two hours and have been as long as five hours at some branches, library workers said.
About $2 million will be dedicated to technology upgrades, such as Internet bandwidth and digital equipment, including computers.
The remaining $5.5 to $7.5 million from the refinancing would expand the library system's collections, including books, DVDs, CDs, databases and e-books.
Roberts said e-book usage increased 36 percent last year.
"You can just see the movement, and we are trying to accommodate all of that," he said. "The main thing is, the library is getting a lot of use. This is the cheapest way I know to push the system up another notch."
There has been no organized opposition to the bond refinancing.
A phone poll taken by the Coalition for Neighborhood Libraries signaled majority support, Roberts said.
Metro on 07/05/2015