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Bill to shift library budget adoption to elected fiscal bodies draws library opposition
Summary
Senate Bill 8 would require many public libraries with majority‑appointed boards to submit budgets and levies to elected city, town or county fiscal bodies. Library leaders and the Indiana Library Federation opposed the change, saying it would remove 2019 guardrails, destabilize services and duplicate existing oversight; supporters argued elected oversight of taxing power is appropriate.
Senator Byrne told the committee SB 8 aims to ensure that entities that set property tax rates are accountable to voters by requiring libraries with a majority of unelected board members — or with certain geographic footprints — to submit proposed budgets and levies to elected city, town or county fiscal bodies before September 2 each year. "All units with the power to tax should be made by elected officials," Byrne said in justification of the measure.
Supporters of the bill argued that taxation…
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