Renew levy for Lorain libraries

The Lorain Public Library System is celebrating 125 years of serving the Lorain community this year, but to continue doing so it needs the public's support. Supporting the good work the library does takes the form this year of renewing a 5.95-mill property tax levy that would generate a little more than $3.5 million per year. That money represents a big portion of the cost of operating the system's Main and South branches. This year, the two branches have a combined budget of just under $4.4 million, the system's director, Anastasia Diamond-Ortiz, told us this week. Lorain residents get a lot in return for supporting the library system. Last year, the two branches had 165,532 patrons, held 870 programs, hosted 1,355 group meetings and circulated 287,794 physical items. That doesn't even account for patrons who checked out around 750,000 e-media items such as e-books across the entire library system, which also has branches in Avon, Columbia Station, Sheffield Lake and North Ridgeville. (Those libraries are supported by separate property tax levies.) The money from the 5.95-mill levy not only helps pay for programs, meetings and circulation of items, but it also goes toward staff salaries — the Main Branch has 20 full- and part-time employees, while the South Branch has nine employees — and upkeep on the buildings. That work includes an ongoing roof replacement at the Main Branch, HVAC upgrades and parking-lot replacements. The library would be hard pressed to do any of those things at either branch without the levy, especially because the state has changed the way it funds libraries. Diamond-Ortiz told us that various changes led to the entire library system receiving about $120,000 less this year, and it's hard to know how future state budgets will impact libraries across the state. Still, the Lorain library isn't asking for additional revenue for the Main and South branches. "We believe we can operate for 10 years on the existing proceeds from the levy," Diamond-Ortiz said. Were the levy, identified on the ballot as Issue 6, to pass, it would be in place for 10 years. It was last renewed for five years in 2021. That renewal passed with the support of 79.9 percent of voters, which tells us that Lorain voters recognized how important the two library branches are to the community. Were Issue 6 to pass, the owner of a home valued at $100,000 would pay about $118 per year, according to Lorain County Auditor Craig Snodgrass' office. That's a reasonable amount to maintain the important services offered by the two library branches supported by the levy. We urge voters to cast their ballots in favor of Issue 6.