Thu Feb 09 2012
by Eric Marotta
Editor
Voters were willing to keep paying to support the Akron-Summit County Library system May 4, when they voted overwhelmingly to approve Issue 16, a 1.4-mill replacement levy to fund the library's operations for the next five years.
According to the final, but unofficial, results from the Summit County Board of Elections, Issue 16 was approved by voters 33,410 to 19,660, or by a margin of 63 percent to 37 percent.
Library Director David Jennings said Tuesday a "couple hundred" volunteers helped with the successful campaign and thanked the voters.
"We're appreciative of the voters and the public," he said on Election Night at the campaign's rally at Tangiers in Akron. "This will enable us going forward to continue operating with the programs and services that we currently provide."
The current levy, approved by voters in 2004, brings in $12.77 million per year and expires at the end of the year.
Homeowners pay about $49 per year for every $100,000 of their home's value. With approval of Issue 16, the county Fiscal Office estimates homeowners will pay virtually the same amount -- around $2.50 more a year.
Once the result is certified by the Board of Elections, the levy will continue to generate $12.77 million for the Akron-Summit County Library system each year - roughly half of the cost of operating the library system, including salaries, utility bills and maintenance. The rest is funded by the state, whose support continues to drop from a high of $14.8 million in 2008 to an expected $10.6 million in 2011, according to library officials.
The Akron-Summit County Library System serves the city of Akron and Summit County communities including Nordonia Hills and Tallmadge, as well as part of Munroe Falls and the Woodridge Local School district through support of the Peninsula Library and Historical Society, which Jennings says gets about $82,000 per year from the levy.
E-mail: emarotta@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3171
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