HENDERSON (KTNV) — We're continuing to monitor what the election results mean for you — not just at the federal and state levels — but also at the local level.
We wanted to follow up on the ballot question Henderson voters rejected this November, which would have levied an additional property tax rate to help Henderson Libraries expand services for the growing community.
About 64% of voters said no to Henderson Library District Question Number 1, which proposed an additional 2 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The cost for the owner of a new $100,000 property would have been up to $7 per year, according to library officials, had this ballot initiative been approved by voters.
The executive director of Henderson Libraries, Marcie Smedley, said that money would've generated an additional $4 million per year for city libraries and would've been used for a variety of things, including:
- building a full-sized library in West Henderson
- restoring Sunday hours at Gibson and Paseo Verde Libraries
- funding a small library in an under-served area, potentially Southeast Henderson
- performing critical maintenance at existing facilities
- expanding printed books and electronic resources
"I understand people's desire to not pay more taxes, but in order to have the amenities that people want in our communities, it does come with a cost," Smedley said.
Smedley said Henderson Libraries are a separate entity from the city and get most of their funding through property taxes. But, she said that revenue hasn't grown at the same pace as the city because of a tax cap. That's why Henderson Libraries' Board of Trustees moved forward with a ballot initiative, in the hopes of filling those funding gaps so the library system can continue to grow with the community.
"Where we sit today is not that much higher in our property tax revenues than it was in the time right before the recession," Smedley said.
However, it's apparent many voters weren't willing to part with more money, and perhaps were hoping Henderson Libraries could find that additional funding elsewhere.
"A lot of people in this community probably would like to see library services maintained, expanded, and even grow, but maybe they just didn't want the additional taxpayer burden."
"Were any other funding sources considered by Henderson Libraries prior to putting forth this ballot initiative this year?" I asked Smedley.
"Yeah, we have a variety of other ways that we try to increase revenues. So we do some grant writing, but unfortunately, our staffing is limited, which means we are kind of at capacity and don't have the extra capacity in order to have a full-time grant writer or somebody who can put more time and effort into seeking out those sources of revenue. We also have a Friends of Henderson Libraries and a foundation. Both of them are 501(c)(3)s. The Friends contribute about $200,000 a year to the libraries, which is great, but there's still a gap in that need for continuing to grow," Smedley replied.
She added the foundation is still in the very early stages of getting its fundraising efforts off the ground.
This wasn't the first time a ballot question has been put before voters to garner extra funding for Henderson Libraries. Smedley said back in 2012, voters said "no" to a similar ballot initiative, and that led to cuts — even two library closures.
Thankfully, she said that was a much different time economically, and she doesn't anticipate such dire effects this time. However, she also doesn't expect to be able to readily scale up services to meet the community's growing needs without that funding.
"A lot of the priorities that we have, we could've worked toward a lot more quickly with the additional funding, but we will still utilize those priorities to guide our decision-making and budgeting. But it will, it will mean slower progress towards all of those goals," Smedley said.
For now, she said, they'll try to seek out additional grants and donors where possible, but she doesn't expect that to generate as much money as quickly as that tax initiative would have. Nevertheless, she's optimistic about the future of Henderson Libraries and how they can continue to find creative ways to serve an expanding city.
"So there's hope that we have the ability to maybe seek out some donors in the community or some corporate sponsorships and different ways that can help to elevate the work we're doing in the community," Smedley said.
As for doing another ballot question in the future, she said that would be up to the Henderson Libraries Board of Trustees.
If you'd like to support Henderson Libraries, click here.
Henderson voters also reject extra funding for fire, EMS
This November, Henderson voters also rejected another local ballot question that sought to levy an additional property tax of 6 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to improve public safety by reducing fire and EMS response times. About 61% of voters said no to that initiative, which would have resulted in an increase in property taxes of an average of $21 per year for the owner of a new $100,000 home.
Prior to the election, I did an in-depth report about the state of response times in Henderson.
You can watch the full story here:
I reached out for follow-up interviews with the Henderson fire chief and fire union president after the election, but they declined at this time.
The City of Henderson did send me a statement, which reads as follows:
"Community safety is a strategic priority for the City. Although Henderson residents did not pass the ballot for a property tax override to support the current and future needs of the Fire Department, Henderson Fire will continue to fulfill its mission to provide exceptional public safety services. HFD is supported through the City's general fund and will be prepared to meet future needs."
