Newsmakers, September 8, 2016

A three-year effort to keep a small branch of the La Crosse Public Library open may lead to a much broader discussion about which local government should fund what services in La Crosse County.

La Crosse Mayor Tim Kabat is suggesting the city library become a part of La Crosse County’s library system, a move he estimates could save city taxpayers as much as $3.5 million a year, and argues is fair because recent studies have shown about one-third of city library users come from outside city limits and aren’t allowed to be charged a special fee for services.

“There’s duplication, we have two systems in one county,” Kabat said. “There has to be a way to get at sharing those services and doing a better job regionally. I would like to come up with some longer-lasting, more structural changes that would allow us to move forward and set the library system up for success.”

For decades, the city and county have operated separate library systems. All county residents except for those in the city of La Crosse pay a county-wide tax. City taxpayers pay for the city’s library.

There is a great disparity in both the level of service and the amount of taxes levied for those services. Kabat maintains city of La Crosse residents pay one of the highest taxes in the state at $83 per person per year. The county operates libraries in five communities outside of La Crosse for $25 per person per year. The city Library system has three branches and an extensive archive system, features Kabat hopes to retain in a merger with the county.

While the head of the La Crosse County Board of Supervisors is willing to have a broad discussion with the city about library issues, Tara Johnson said the county doesn’t have budget-related issues with its library system now. Those challenges come in running the jail, child protective services and programs that help vulnerable residents.

“I think it’s possible that if we get this process right on libraries that it can become a template for other conversations,” said Johnson. “Hopefully, that’s a process then that we can replicate when we go to talk about the airport, or roads, or parks,”

La Crosse County and 18 towns, villages and cities comprise local taxing entities, many of which provide similar things like police and fire services or garbage collection. With shrinking support from the state and federal governments and more restrictions the state has placed on local governments to raise more property tax revenue, Johnson said taxpayers need to help La Crosse area governments to decide what to prioritize.

“There’s a lot of work to do to educate folks and to invite the community to decide ‘is libraries at the top of the list’”, she said, “Roads is another one that eats us (counties and municipalities) all alive. How do we resolve that issue? Because the state has made it pretty clear that their not going to fix that one.”