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Ephraim library weighs dedicated library tax as grants and federal funding face uncertainty
Summary
Board discussed pursuing a dedicated library property tax to bolster a small operating budget and reduce reliance on grants after the director warned of potential cuts to Institute of Museum and Library Services funding that could cut roughly $6,400 in annual grants.
The Ephraim Public Library Board spent substantial time on March 18 exploring a dedicated library tax and discussing the risk that federal-level actions could reduce state-managed library grants. Director Michael Thompson said a library tax could allow Ephraim to retain and expand library funding currently received as roughly 4% of the city's general fund.
Thompson presented a rough estimate that converting to a library tax at an appropriate rate could increase the library's budget from about $240,000'$247,000 to roughly $300,000, "we'd get an additional 60,000," he said. The board discussed ballot timing, voter concerns, whether municipal properties or Snow College would be exempt from property-tax assessments, and the alternative of creating a library district covering a larger area.
The director also briefed the board on an executive-order action affecting the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and said the state had frozen IMLS-related funds. She listed grants that could be affected if federal funding is reduced or restructured: the CLEF grant (~$5,700 annually), the borrower support grant (~$700), and competitive grants such as the library technology enhancement grant and the children/teen book enhancement grant. The director estimated direct annual grant exposure at about $6,400 and said she had recalculated the tentative budget without counting CLEF funds to be conservative.
Board members asked about precedents; Thompson cited other Utah jurisdictions that fund libraries through a dedicated tax (Mount Pleasant, Gunnison, Provo) and said the board would need more data before deciding to pursue a measure. He said he had filed a GRAMA request for property-value data and planned to draft a formal proposal and run numbers to determine the minimum tax rate required to maintain the current budget. The board directed the director to continue exploration and consult with other library directors about pros, cons and voter messaging.
The director also reviewed line items and recurring costs in the tentative budget (proposed FY total roughly $247,000) including contracts (Libby/consortium share ~ $1,500; print-release service increase from $280 to $850 to add mobile printing), membership costs, elevator drop-test estimate (~$5,000), and described staffing adjustments (creation of a 10-hour-per-week clerk position and three paid summer interns from Snow College) that help buffer personnel costs.
Next steps recorded by the board: the director will investigate the library-tax option in more detail, circulate materials about the IMLS executive-order impact, and return with a draft proposal and additional data at a future meeting.
