Voters approve 8-cent property tax hike for Kansas City Public Library improvements

Voters in the Kansas City Public Library district on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved an 8-cent hike in the library’s property tax levy.

The increase is expected to generate an additional $2.8 million a year for the system’s $20 million budget.

With 100 percent, unofficial results on Wednesday, the levy measure passed 84 percent to 16 percent.

The last levy increase was in 1996. Funds generated by the old levy, which was 46.76 cents per $100 assessed valuation, have risen by less than the rate of inflation, about 1 percent annually, over the last decade. In addition, library officials have chafed as tax incentives are granted to developers.

The increase was needed, library officials said, for deferred maintenance and improvements to the 10 library branches as well as expanded services for patrons.

Many branches of the Kansas City library, which does not cover the entire city, need technology upgrades and additional computers.

The library has cut staffing by 7.5 percent over the last decade through attrition and relied increasingly on donations and grants.

The system is visited in person and online more than 4 million times a year. Checkouts total nearly 2 million. Nearly 200,000 people annually participate in adult and childrens’ programs.

The Kansas City Public Library announced this week it again earned a five-star designation from the publication Library Journal. It is the third consecutive year the library has received that top-rated distinction for per capita circulation, visits, computer usage and program attendance.

“It’s a source of great satisfaction that the tremendous efforts of our staff and the great partnerships we have in our community are recognized by our professional peers,” executive director R. Crosby Kemper III said in a statement.

This story was originally published November 6, 2018 at 10:48 PM.