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SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake City Library board of directors voted to do away with overdue fines, but the policy change comes the same year library officials are seeking a 21 percent property tax increase.
The library board voted unanimously Monday night to cancel the 20-cents-per-day fines, aiming to stop "disproportionately" impacting low-income community members, Peter Bromberg, the library's executive director, said in a combined KSL/Deseret News editorial board meeting earlier in the day.
Bromberg said overdue fines have created a "financial barrier" to the library, particularly for disadvantaged community members whose library cards are blocked when they don't pay the fines. He said it's become increasingly common for libraries across the country to do away with fines, since they have not shown to be an effective deterrent to late returns.
The library will, however, block library cards and bill for the value of the unreturned material when its four weeks overdue, Bromberg said.
The policy shift, scheduled to take effect July 1, is expected to cost the library $148,000 next year, though Bromberg said the cost may be offset by savings in staff time that's otherwise spent negotiating fees and reconciling payments.
At the same time the library board has been re-thinking its late fees policy, library officials also wait for the Salt Lake City Council to either approve or reject its proposal to ask taxpayers to contribute another $3.9 million a year.
The last time the library requested increased operational funding was in 2004.
For an average Salt Lake City home worth about $247,000, the property tax hike would increase the annual bill by about $20, from $95 a year to $115.
Library officials are asking for a tax increase for three main reasons, Bromberg said.
The first is to use $1.5 million a year to fund the operations of the library system's two newest branches — Glendale and Marmalade, which were opened with no increase in operational funding, Bromberg said.
Both buildings cost about $8.9 million each to build, according to city documents.
"When we approached the council a few years back (to bond for the new buildings) they said use money in savings and come back in a year or two when you know how much it's going to cost to run these buildings," Bromberg said, adding that the council has been "expecting" the request for several years now.
Secondly, Bromberg said he wants to take the "fiscally responsible" approach to protect investments in the library system by creating a designated fund and setting aside $1.5 million every year for long-term maintenance.
He said when he began as director eight months ago, he noticed there weren't any ongoing savings to take care of capital maintenance for the library's eight buildings.
Thirdly, the tax hike would also include a 2 percent cost of living pay adjustment for staff. Bromberg said the library's salaries and benefits are comparatively low, which has been impacting staff turnover and employee morale.
The library's budget proposal awaits approval from the City Council, with a public hearing at the Salt Lake City-County Building scheduled for Tuesday night and another on June 6, both at 7 p.m.
Based on conversations he's had with council members, Bromberg said they seem supportive of the proposal. Mayor Jackie Biskupski, however, has urged council members to consider a "phased-in approach," given the Salt Lake City Public Utilities department is also proposing sewer rate increases over the next five years to pay for major infrastructure upgrades.
Bromberg said his preference is that the tax increase is fully funded this year.
"There's a variety of reasons, both practically and politically, to not phase it in," he said. "Politically, we don't know who's going to be on the council next year. We don't know what the economy is going to be like next year. This is an honest and true reflection of what we need to operate the library responsibly."
