Highland officials weigh tax increase, service cuts as library funding falls behind inflation

Assistant City Administrator and Community Development Director Jay Bachman told the Highland City Council and library board on July 29 that the city’s dedicated library tax, established in February 2007, has not kept pace with inflation and that the library now faces a funding shortfall that could require either a revenue increase or cuts to services.

“We are collecting $65.77 per household, instead of the inflation adjusted $90.53,” Bachman said, summarizing the fund’s finances and the effect of 17 years of inflation on the dedicated tax rate. He and library director Donna Carden laid out usage and budget data showing large increases in demand while revenues remained largely tied to the fixed tax rate.

The discussion matters because the Highlands View Library is operating at current service levels only by using one-time reserves and a recent general-fund supplement. Bachman and Carden said the library’s operations depend on the dedicated tax for roughly 98% of its revenue, and that without a change the fund balance will drop over the next five to six years. Options on the table include increasing the dedicated property-tax rate, supplementing the library from the city general fund, reducing hours or programming, pursuing donations or room-rental revenue, or some combination.

Bachman and Carden presented comparative and historical figures to illustrate the gap. When the dedicated tax began in 2007 it produced roughly $200,366 for about 3,442 households; in 2024 the library collected $314,801 from roughly 4,786 households as the city grew from about 14,000 to 20,000 people. The library’s collection has grown to roughly 44,262 items and last…