Louisville Voters Nix Library Expansion; Streamlined Plan Requested
Lynn Blumenstein & Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 11/13/2007
On November 6, Election Day, voters in Louisville, KY thoroughly rejected an occupational licenses and business profits tax increase that would have funded major expansions to the Louisville Free Public Library. The tax boost was expected to generate about $40 million in its first year, and would have cost a person earning $38,000 an extra $76 annually for the library district. An antireferendum group, Support the Libraries, Not the Tax, filed a complaint with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, contending that the library violated state law in promoting the referendum among staff.In the aftermath of the defeat, by more than a 2-1 margin, Mayor Jerry Abramson told library and library foundation leaders to propose a streamlined plan that requires no new taxes and prioritizes specific branches and services, according to the Courier-Journal. In an editorial, the newspaper cited previous rejections of library tax increases in 1986 and 1991 and criticized “a poorly handled campaign that left the impression it was elitist, pre-emptory and sneaky.”
Meanwhile, Republican members of the Metro Council would like to use bonds and annual budget raises over seven years to come up with $200 million for the planned expansion. Abramson and some fellow Democrats have opposed the plan, and the newspaper suggested that the vote did not endorse the Republican alternative, which deserves further scrutiny.
Talkback
Related Content
Related Content
Sponsored Links
