Maybe it’s a good idea to create a separate library district in Denver to solidify funding for the struggling systemor maybe not.
However, we’re quite sure it’s a city fiscal matter that should be considered in the context of Denver’s broader structural budget gap.
And that’s an issue the new mayor ought to grapple with after being elected next month.
The series of public hearings that library officials are planning to raise awareness about the system’s budget shortfall is a fine idea, so long as that is as far as it goes for now.
We are uncomfortable that it could be a precursor for the libraries striking out on their own via an independent library district, separate from a broader examination of how to align city revenues and expenses.
Such a change would require voter approval and would have to be petitioned onto the ballot or referred there by the city council.
It’s not hard to imagine that library services are going to garner more support than say, garbage pickup. We cannot imagine, for instance, that we’ll ever see a “Friends of Garbage Service” organization spring up. But it could be that charging separately for waste management services is a better route to fiscal stability than creating an independent library district.
The point is, consideration of an independent library district ought to be part of the new mayor’s wider plans to get the city’s fiscal house in order.
That conversation must include a recognition of the broader trend lines in city finances, including declining sales-tax revenue.
We should be clear that this criticism isn’t an attempt to undercut what we see as the need to support the city’s libraries.
They are important institutions, particularly in a recession when people use library computers to look for jobs, and especially in low-income neighborhoods where they provide important resources.
In 2010, the library system had more than 4 million visitors, more than all other city cultural institutions combined, according to statistics compiled by the library system.
For the last several years, the library has endured repeated budget cuts. As is the case with other city agencies, the library has been instructed to prepare a budget for the upcoming fiscal year that is 9 percent lower than the current year — a $2.5 million cut.
The library has many measures showing how persistent cuts have affected services, and we don’t question the impact. In response, library officials are floating the idea of a separate library tax, which would cost somewhere in the range of $56 a year for a home valued for tax purposes at $200,000.
At the end of the discussion, perhaps that will emerge as a viable solution. But in an environment with scarce resources, funding for the city’s library system has to be considered alongside other missions, including public safety, economic development and, yes, picking up trash.
