Library seeks tax levy to stabilize regular budget after transforming buildings

The Dayton Metro Library has completely transformed its facilities over the past decade, rebuilding almost all of its libraries thanks to voter approval of tax funding in 2012.

Now the library is asking voters to approve another property tax levy, this time to transform day-to-day operational funding, as DML has operated at an annual deficit in most recent years.

The proposed tax is 1 mill for 5 years and would cost a homeowner $35 annually per $100,000 of home value ($52 for a $150K home, $105 for a $300K home), according to the county auditor.

Library Fiscal Officer Hilary Browning said this summer that DML is projected to post a $5.5 million deficit for 2024, draining the library’s shrinking cash reserves. The new levy, if passed, is projected to raise $10.5 million per year.

“Like many other organizations and even individual households throughout Montgomery County, we are deeply feeling the increase in utility rates, the cost of books, materials, digital access to databases and e-books … the things every library should have available for its community,” said DML Executive Director Jeffrey Trzeciak.

Credit: Jim Noelker

Credit: Jim Noelker

Library funding

The library’s 2023 year-end audit has not yet been published by the Ohio Auditor’s office, but previous years’ audits show three primary library funding streams. One is the property tax stream from the 2012 facilities levy (about $9 million per year), which is used to pay off debt on the new buildings.

The other two main streams are the library’s operating tax levy, which raises $10-11 million per year, and unrestricted grants, largely from the state library fund, which were $22-23 million in each of 2021 and 2022. Investment earnings, donations and a few other categories combine to account for about $1 million.

In late August, Browning estimated the library’s 2024 operating revenue at about $34 million, which would be about $1 million less than the amount shown in the 2022 audit. Trzeciak said monthly state payments this year have been coming in lower than projected.

“It has been 15 years since DML has had an operating levy on the ballot,” he said. “We have been conducting day-to-day business on 2010 level revenue.”

Credit: JIM NOELKER

The library’s annual audits show operating revenue has increased in recent years — from roughly $30.7 million each year 2015-17, to the $32-33 million range in 2018-21, and $34-35 million a year since 2022.

Asked why the library is projecting multimillion-dollar annual deficits given those revenue increases, Trzeciak pointed to cost increases in utilities, technology and benefits.

“In recent years the library has also seen a dramatic rise in use of e-books and e-audio books,” he said. “… A traditional print book might have an average cost of $15 while the exact same ebook costs $65 and the same book as an e-audio book costs $95.”

Library value, services

Trzeciak said in today’s hi-tech age, the library is especially important for lower-income people with limited access to wi-fi, computers, job search assistance, English as a second language services, early childhood education and other basic literacy resources.

“Without free and open access to these up-to-date resources and materials, our children, families, older adults stand to lose out on information and services that for some are a portal to success,” he said.

He said the public library system is many things to many people — a hub, a safety net, an educator, and more.

Credit: Jim Noelker

“We exist to serve all. An investment in the Library is an investment in the strength, ability, and future of the people that live here,” he said.

Everyone in Montgomery County will vote on the levy, except those in Oakwood, Centerville/Washington Twp., and Germantown, as those communities have separate library systems.

Cuts and looking to the future

Browning said the library has made budget cuts this year in areas ranging from operating hours to delaying IT projects and not replacing furniture. Trzeciak pointed to a partial hiring freeze, program cuts and reductions in the materials budget (books, ebooks, audiobooks). But they said those changes have not been significant enough to put the library in the black.

“If the levy does not pass we will have to reduce our budget by $7 million or approximately 20%,” Trzeciak said. “It will require a significant loss of staffing, resulting in reduced open hours at all locations. It will also require significant cuts to books and other materials, facilities maintenance and technology available for the public.”

Trzeciak said The Dayton Metro Library is not just asking local residents for more money, pointing to the library’s lobbying efforts for funding at the state level, sometimes through the Ohio Library Council.

Asked whether the cost to operate the new buildings played into the need for a tax levy, Trzeciak said as the cost of upkeep and staffing rises, “we must cultivate the resources to meet the need.”

“We are committed to keeping our facilities clean, safe, accessible and open to all,” he said. “It takes resources to do that. Our communities deserve the best we can provide.”