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SALT LAKE CITY — For the first time in 10 years, Salt Lake County approved a property tax increase for the County Library system.
The increase will allow the library system to maintain operations after a decade of rising prices and wages, and dramatic inflation over the past year. Several older branches are in dire need of remodeling, said library spokeswoman Sara Neal, and would have faced permanent closure without more funding.
"If the tax increase had not been approved, there would have been serious conversations about where are we going to have to cut back and what services are we going to have to cut looking forward," Neal said. "If an older branch has to close due to some sort of system failure, we would not be able to reopen that branch, and I think that was one of the biggest concerns that we were looking at: If we do not have enough money to actually fix them, that branch will just have to close."
Neal said the West Valley branch, the Ruth Vine Tyler branch in Midvale and the Whitemore branch in Cottonwood Heights are likely going to need to be replaced in the next few years.
The library has had to absorb regular inflationary impacts like staff raises and increased overhead, she said, and in recent years has deferred some minor maintenance in order to cut costs.
The Salt Lake County Council approved the measure on Tuesday, as part of the county's 2023 budget. The County Library tax rate was increased from 0.000386% to 0.000485%, which will increase taxes by $30.49 per year for the average Salt Lake County home valued at $560,000.
Several city and county officials supported the increase, including Midvale Mayor Marcus Stevenson, who said he was concerned about a "potential closure or service gap" in his community.
"This is not just a want, this is a need," he said. "We have higher rates of poverty in my community. ... The families, the individuals who are trying to get on their feet, the people who are living in poverty, the services libraries provide are so critical to them."
He argued that even a temporary gap in services could lead to detrimental long-term outcomes for many low-income children who rely on library services for educational help.
Those opposed, though, said they were worried about the additional cost to homeowners, especially those with low or fixed incomes. While many said they supported libraries and the services they provide, several community members said they remained opposed to the increase.
Some questioned if the services provided are essential — especially given the breadth of information available online — and were dubious that the county system would actually have to cut services without the increased rate.
Neal argued that modern libraries are about much more than just checking out books, and said they provide essential services like internet access to many residents who don't have access at home.
After more than an hour of public comments, the county council voted to approve the budget and tax rate increase, which will go into effect next year.
Neal said she understands those who are frustrated by the increase, but said she's grateful the council approved the measure, and said they did so carefully so as not to raise the tax burden before it was absolutely necessary.
"Part of our budget is paying off bonds and debt from the new branches we've built over the past six years," Neal said. "In 2016, the county council voted to build multiple new library branches, but at the time they approved them, they didn't vote to increase the tax rate because that's more of a burden on the taxpayer. They said, 'We should not go for an increase until we have to start making those debt payments."
The rate increase will bring in around $11 million in additional revenue for the library, on top of $47 million the system allocated in 2022.
