Montana Libraries Attempt at Independence Fails

Staff -- Library Journal, 2/22/1999

Montana House Bill 152, which would have given communities "the option to form independent taxing districts that would provide for elected trustees and up to a 20 mill levy" is probably dead. It failed a third reading by a 51 to 49 vote. State Librarian Karen Strege recently told LJDigital that many of the state's smaller libraries "do not have a tax base in order to support quality service where libraries are competing with other public services for shrinking public dollars." Montana's libraries are supported by mill levies on the assessed value of local property. The bill would have allowed libraries to collect moneys from a wider area.