Midpoint Library tells Monroe council voters will decide on May 6 replacement levy

Travis Bouts, representative of the Midpoint Library System, told the Monroe City Council that the library is asking voters to approve a five-year, 0.75-mill replacement levy on May 6 to replace an expiring levy.

Bouts said the current levy, originally levied in 2010 and renewed in later years, has lost purchasing power and has slipped to about 0.4 mills. He told the council that the replacement levy would be 0.75 mills but that "there is no overlap between the 2 levies. 1 would expire, 1 would start," and that the net increase is smaller than the raw rate change — about a net increase of less than $12 per $100,000 of assessed value because an expiring levy of roughly $14.63 per $100,000 is ending.

Bouts described Midpoint as one of 251 public libraries in Ohio and explained that, under Ohio law, public libraries are political subdivisions with their own boards of trustees. He said the Midpoint trustees are appointed by the elected boards that represent the district and that the librarysystemserves a defined service district, including small areas that lie inside Monroecity boundaries in Warren County. Bouts said that those territorial lines date to 1982 and do not automatically expand with subsequent municipal annexations.

Bouts provided 2024 usage statistics and program details to show services supported by the levy. Systemwide, he said, the library had more than 600,000 visits, more than 2.1 million checkout transactions, and nearly 3,000 programs last year. About 95,000 people attended events systemwide in 2024, he said. The system also offers passport application acceptance (staff do not provide passport photos), on-site case management through a partnership with Sunshine Counseling Services, congregate senior lunches in cooperation with the City of Monroe and local aging services, free summer meals for children under a U.S. Department of Agriculture program, and local administration of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library for children from birth to age 5.

Bouts also highlighted maker spaces (Middletown and Westchester locations), free digital streaming content, and delivery services for homebound patrons. He asked the council primarily to help get accurate information to constituents and to clarify confusion that had arisen after a prior levy presentation.

Councilmembers asked for clarification about whether the levy request represented an additional, overlapping charge or a replacement of the expiring levy; Bouts reiterated that the replacement is timed so one levy expires as the new one takes effect. No formal action by the council was requested or taken on the levy during the meeting.