GUEST COLUMN: Library Board Urges Voters to Ask Questions
Following through on its previously announced plans, the Board of Trustees of the Geauga County Public Library has asked the Board of Elections to place a half-mil bond issue on the Nov. 7 ballot to raise money for capital improvements to library facilities.
Under Ohio law, it is the Library Board that is responsible for deciding whether to ask the voters to approve the issuance of bonds to raise money for library improvements and it is up to the voters living in the GCPL service district to decide whether to approve the issuance of the bonds.
While the law requires that the County Commissioners forward a duly requested library bond issue to the Board of Elections for placement on the ballot, the Library Board is not a subordinate entity to the County Commissioners and the law does not give the Commissioners the authority to keep the issue off the ballot.
At their public meeting on Aug. 8, the Commissioners did what they were required by law to do and forwarded the bond issue to the Board of Elections. Their action should not be interpreted as indicating approval or endorsement of the library bond issue.
Unfortunately, in the process of doing what they were legally required to do, it was suggested publicly by at least one Commissioner that the Library Board was not being forthcoming with the public about the bond issue and its cost to property owners. Nothing could be further from the truth.
From the very start, the Library Board has been committed to being open, honest and responsive with respect to the bond issue.
In the early 2017 issue of “Lines and Links,” delivered to the home of every resident in the county including those who would be affected by the tax, the Library Board announced its intention to conduct a facility review with an eye to determining the need for improvements and expansion. Citizens were invited to give their input.
A thorough review process was then undertaken and it included every library facility. The Library Board was assisted by professional consultants with ample experience in the improvement and construction of library facilities.
Throughout the process, many committee meetings were held to discuss the review and its findings. All of the available financing options were explored with respect to how much money to raise and how to raise it and given serious consideration. Throughout the entire process, all board and committee meetings and votes concerning the bond issue have been conducted at duly noticed public meetings providing an opportunity for public comment.
After many hours of work and careful consideration by Board members, library management, library staff, professional consultants and concerned citizens, the Library Board announced in the Summer 2017 issue of “Lines and Links,” which mailed in May 2017, its intention to put a half-mil bond issue on the November 2017 ballot. This bond issue was determined to be the best way to responsibly give our patrons a good value return on their tax dollars. The amount the issue will raise is sufficient to address the highest priority items revealed by the facilities review.
Since then, more information concerning the bond issue, the thinking behind it, and how the money raised would be spent has been made publicly available in the newspapers and in social media.
The Library Board and administration have scheduled many more public meetings in addition to regular board meetings to be held in the months leading up to the election to give citizens even more opportunity to ask questions about the bond issue and the way in which the Library Board plans to use the money raised. We urge concerned members of the public to attend as many of these meetings that they can. If you have questions, ask them and give us the opportunity to respond; if you have opinions, express them.
Ultimately, it is up to the voters to decide — the Library Board respects the process and understands it is up to us to convince you to vote for the bond issue.
As to the suggestion that the Library Board is not being up front with voters about the cost of the bonds, the information the Library has put out concerning the cost to property owners has been stated in a format commonly used by counties, townships, school districts and other taxing entities in Ohio: the annual dollar cost per $100,000 worth of taxable property value.
The Library Board is confident that residents whose property has a taxable value that is a multiple of $100,000 can easily calculate the total annual cost. No one on the Library Board or in library management is trying to hide or diminish the significance and impact of our request for funding.
Board of Trustees
Geauga County Public Library
