The library has been blessed with dedicated funding from a voter referendum that very dedicated library supporters helped get on the ballot in 1994. At that time, voters in Coolbaugh Township and Mount Pocono Borough voted to support an annual 1 mil for library funding. In 2008, we were very fortunate to win 1 mil from the voters in Coolbaugh Township to support the construction of our wonderful library building. People from all over really love our building, and this new building mil expires in 2029 when the library's construction loan is paid off. We've had wonderful, reliable funding these past 27 years, and there is a spreadsheet attached that shows what dedicated millage can do. It follows the growth in the community, and allowed us to grow an amazing library.
A lot of people may not really know that for many years Monroe County only figured property taxes using just one quarter of the value of a property. All these years we've had our dedicated 1 mil for operations and for the construction loan, the amount that was collected as a special tax was set based on this quarter valuation. In 2018, Monroe County did a complete countywide reassessment of properties and at that time set the value that is used to calculate tax at 100% of the property value. A lot of people remember how frustrating and confusing the reassessment was. The reassessment threw our dedicated funding into disarray because one mil is now based on 100% of the property value rather than just a quarter of it's value. And this is too much money.
Everyone is wondering why we are going to all this effort to do another ballot referendum. Well, we want to legally secure the library's funding to make sure the library can plan for our current and future growth. Title 24 s 9315 of the State Library Law gives libraries the right to set their own funding by referendum. We want to use this right to reverse the effect of the county reassessment to reduce our dedicated mil. By setting a new dedicated rate at .25 or 1/4 of assessed property, we are doing just that. Rather than getting 1 mil of 100% of assessed property, we are seeking to reduce the annual tax to .25 of 100%.
Think of it like this: we only need one quarter from you to run the library and keep our services really healthy. That's it, and that's all.
With your support this November, we'll be able to do just that. And just like those people who worked so hard in 1994 to set library funding for the future, we're going to do the same. I want everyone to fully understand what is going on. Please feel free to reach out to me by calling the library. If you feel really strongly about it, then please come by an sign a petition to get this initiative moving through our local government. We really appreciate your support! With fair, stable funding we can continue to grow and change through this year and for many years to come.
And, if you are a math nerd, or just a motivated and curious tax payer, you can check the math: 1 mil is .001 x your assessed property value. One quarter is .00025 x your assessed property value. I think we can all do the math and figure out what is the better choice. Vote YES to pay less!
