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New tax for branch libraries?
It's time for a new approach to the perennial debate over Evanston's branch libraries.
The old debate has been renewed on the message board of Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, over the past few days.
The north and south branches provide a convenience for residents in some parts of town, but are too far away from most residents to be of use to them. Yet all residents share in the tax burden of keeping the branches open.
A look at the city's ward map makes it clear why the branches have survived.
Of the nine aldermen, two, Melissa Wynne, 3rd Ward, and Elizabeth Tisdahl, 7th Ward, have a branch library in their ward.
Two more, Steve Bernstein, 4th Ward, and Edmund Moran, 6th Ward, have a branch within a block of the edge of their ward.
The edge of a fifth ward, Anjana Hansen's 9th, is just two blocks away from the south branch library.
The aldermen who have a branch or are close to one know they will have a vocal band of constituents who use the branches screaming bloody murder if they vote to close them.
And while a sixth alderman, Cheryl Wollin, 1st Ward, doesn't have a branch nearby, she has the main downtown library in her ward. And as a former library board member, she is disinclined to cut the library budget.
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This is a bad idea. Where does it end? Does everyone who takes advantage of city services have to pay more in taxes than those who don't? Does anyone who lives close to a city park have to pay more in taxes than those who don't? Does someone who lives next door to a fire station have to pay more in taxes than someone who lives a mile away from a fire station?
Does someone with no kids get an exemption from paying property taxes toward public schools? Or if they don't send their kids to public schools?
It ends where people decide it should end. Here are some thoughts on how to decide.
Fire stations and parks are reasonably equitably distributed across the city. Branch libraries currently are not.
Fire protection is an essential service. Branch libraries are not.
The whole "village" has an interest in seeing that kids turn out to be productive, taxpaying adults. Society will not collapse if the branch libraries disappear.
People are charged for water based on how much they use. People are charged a user fee for parking in a city garage. People are charged a fee for access to city beaches. Perhaps users of branch libraries should pay a daily fee or have to buy a monthly pass.
There's nothing unfair in asking people who have superior access to a non-essential city service to pay for it.
What is unfair is asking people who don't have that access to subsidize those who do.
Bill
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