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Residents urge Templeton board to pursue LAFCO step so local library can access $318,000 in tax funds
Summary
Library volunteers and residents asked the Templeton Community Services District board to apply to LAFCO to explore activating district authority to operate library services and reclaim roughly $318,000 in property-tax revenue that currently funds other county branches.
Multiple Templeton residents and volunteers urged the Templeton Community Services District board on Oct. 21 to place an item on a future agenda to pursue a Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) application that could allow the district to access local library property‑tax revenue.
Monica Schechter, a long‑time Templeton resident and library volunteer, described the local library as “a gem bringing citizens of all ages together,” highlighting story times, tutoring space and community programming.
Christina Lee, a volunteer and member of the Templeton Community Library Association (TCLA), told the board the county has collected local property taxes for library services since Proposition 13 but Templeton has not received a share. “So for 45 years, the county's collected that 1.6 percent of Templeton property taxes for library services and none, none of those funds have ever come back to support our library,” she said.
Melinda Reed, president of TCLA, said San Luis Obispo County collects about $318,000 annually from Templeton residents for library services that do not support the Templeton library and asked the district to consider submitting a LAFCO application to test feasibility and enable negotiations over a tax‑exchange. Reed said the LAFCO application is nonbinding and would function as a feasibility study; TCLA offered to pay application fees and some staff costs.
Supporters said public funding would allow expanded hours, additional programs and access to state and federal library grants. Malcolm Pickett, another resident, said a publicly funded library could raise property values and broaden services.
Board members did not take action at the meeting but acknowledged the request. Staff noted that supervisors had expressed conditional support for a tax‑exchange if maps and organizational details were produced through the LAFCO process. The board said it would place the request for future consideration and follow up via the normal agenda process.
The next procedural step would be for directors to decide whether to place a LAFCO application item on a future agenda and, if so, to scope the study and any staff time or costs to be covered by TCLA or the district.
