Published: May 13, 2008 05:21 pm            

Time to explore regional library

State officials got the attention of the Kokomo-Howard County Library Board last summer.

Back in August, Indiana’s Local Government Tax Control Board wasn’t altogether enthusiastic with the library’s plan to expand the South Branch on Center Road. In fact, library board president Bill Sahm told board members two folks on the tax control board “said they’re not inclined to vote for anything that’s likely to impact the tax rate.”

The library board had hoped to finance a little less than $2 million of the $6.4 million expansion with a bond issue. Yet, the tax control board sent the bond request to the Department of Local Government Finance commissioner with no recommendation.

The no-vote was an obvious setback. The library board stopped all work on the South Branch expansion.

But that hasn’t stopped the library board from planning for the future. Monday, board members took initial steps in putting together a 10-year plan. Board member Joe Dunbar said the Greentown Library “should be included in any strategic plan.”

(The Kokomo-Howard County Public Library provides materials for the Greentown Library. The preschool-through-sixth-grade library is housed in the elementary; the seventh-grade-through-adult library is located at Eastern High School.)

Library director Charles Joray took Dunbar’s suggestion a step farther. He suggested exploring a regional library. Such an institution could include Miami, Cass and Clinton counties, as well as Howard. He said the state library association already has allocated money for a study.

We encourage the library board to continue seeking economies of scale. Sahm said in September the tax control board’s no-vote was linked to Gov. Mitch Daniels’ contention that much of the state’s property tax crisis was the result of local spending decisions. We still believe Sahm’s interpretation of events was dead-on.

Any bond request that goes before the state tax control board will go nowhere – unless there’s obvious intent to shrink local government.

The concept of a regional library system might be the only way for communities to expand their facilities.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.