Parcel Tax on Ballot Would Benefit Library

The city’s voters will decide next month whether to tax themselves to pay for library services.

Measure W, placed on the Nov. 5 ballot by the Placentia Library District Board of Trustees, would cost single-family homeowners $29 a year and residents of multifamily homes and apartments $24 a year.

The parcel tax would be $70 a year for businesses of more than 10,000 square feet and $100 a year for businesses of less than 10,000 square feet.

Though it is in the Civic Center complex, the library has operated since 1919 as an independent special district and is separate from the city. The library does not receive city revenue to cover its operating expenses.

Library Director Elizabeth Minter said 87% of the library’s budget comes from property tax revenue.

But in the last several years, the state has shifted about $450,000 a year from the district’s share of property taxes. The result has been cuts in programs, reduced library hours and the elimination of eight positions.

The parcel tax would raise about $460,000 a year for a five-year period to restore services and programs.

Tax money would increase the book and materials budget from $58,446 to $225,000, add children’s programs and expand library hours to 70 a week from 44 a week.

Two-thirds of the voters must approve the tax. If the tax does not pass, Minter said, the library faces drastic cuts in January.