Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Basalt Library Ballot topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Basalt Regional Library asks Pitkin County to place property-tax extension on Nov. 4, 2025 ballot
Summary
The Basalt Regional Library Board requested the Pitkin County BOCC place a property-tax extension on the Nov. 4, 2025 ballot to continue library funding after an expiring tax; staff scheduled the resolution for first reading Aug. 13 and second reading/public hearing Aug. 27.
The Basalt Regional Library Board of Trustees has asked the Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners to place a property-tax extension question on the Nov. 4, 2025 ballot to continue funding library services after a 2016 tax expires.
Jeanette Jones of the county manager’s office presented the request at the Aug. 5 work session and said the trustees provided a resolution and a ballot question text for the county to consider. “In 2016, [the electorate] passed a question on the ballot authorizing a tax increase for the purposes of funding the library. And that tax is due to expire,” Jones said. The requested measure would extend that tax and repurpose it from bond repayment to operational funding.
Amy Shipley, director of the Basalt Library, joined remotely to answer questions about process and jurisdiction. Shipley confirmed Eagle County will conduct a parallel review because the library district spans multiple jurisdictions. She said the expiring tax previously supported capital improvements and that the library’s preference is an ongoing operational levy rather than a short-term sunset: “We want the library to operate forever,” Shipley said, explaining the board has not raised its mill levy in nearly 20 years aside from a temporary supplemental levy.
Commissioners asked whether the measure should be written with a sunset (a fixed term) or “in perpetuity.” Shipley said the library considered sunsets but had not encountered pushback and preferred a permanent operational extension; she also noted a failed measure would not preclude future ballot strategies.
Staff told the board the county will return a resolution for first reading on Aug. 13 and a second reading and public hearing on Aug. 27. Commissioners requested staff follow up with Eagle County staff to confirm the joint process and to provide any district-specific ballot placement details.
Next steps: The BOCC will consider a formal resolution at its Aug. 13 meeting (first reading) and hold a public hearing on Aug. 27.
