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The City Council will take action on one of two proposed library tax increases Tuesday. Both are designed to help the library bridge a $1.3 million budget deficit.  

The council will choose between the city manager’s proposal to increase the library tax by 13. 9 percent and a request from the Board of Library Trustees for an increase of 27 percent.  

The City Council will take action on one of two proposed library tax increases Tuesday. Both are designed to help the library bridge a $1.3 million budget deficit.  

The council will choose between the city manager’s proposal to increase the library tax by 13. 9 percent and a request from the Board of Library Trustees for an increase of 27 percent.  

Under the Library Tax Relief Act of 1988, City Council can increase property taxes annually according to one of two indexes, the Bay Area Consumer Price Index, which rises by 2.2 percent annually, or the California Per Capita Income Growth Index, which rises by 2.3 percent a year. The city has not increased the library tax consecutively over the last 15 years, and both the city manager’s and the trustees’ proposals call for a retroactive property tax increase.  

Under the city manager’s proposal, the library tax for a 1,900-square-foot residence would be $245 annually—a $30 increase. The trustees’ increase would translate to a $58 increase on the same sized home for an annual total of $273.  

Commercial and industrial space pay a slightly higher rate. For a 10,000-square-foot building, the tax would go up $238 under the city manager’s proposal for an annual total of $1,955. Under the trustees’ proposal, the annual commercial rate would rise by $463 for a total of $2,180. 

City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque issued an undisclosed memorandum on the legality of the trustees’ proposed increase. According to a councilmember, who asked not to be identified, Albuquerque determined the increase was too large and therefore in violation of the Library Tax Relief Act. 

Mayor Tom Bates said he expects the council to approve the city manager’s proposal. 

“I think we’re going to help them as much as is legally possible to do,” he said. “It’s not as much of an increase as the library services had hoped for, but it’s still a substantial increase.” 

Library Deputy Director Mary Lou Mull said the city manager’s proposal will be just enough to keep the library afloat next year but added that the lesser amount makes no provisions for the library’s long-term health. She said, with the 13.9 percent increase, the budget would not allow for inflationary increases for the purchase of new materials or allow the library to create a reserve fund. The tighter budget would also put immediate pressure on the library for the following year’s budget.  

“The city manager’s proposal will allow us to fill our current vacant positions,” Mull said, “but it will also likely mean that we will have to come back to the council again in 2005 and possibly put a measure on the ballot to increase the library’s base funding to something that would keep us stable.” 

According to a city manager’s report, city officials were unable to justify the trustee’s 27 percent increase. “Staff believes that this is an inappropriate application of the personal income growth index for the purpose of calculating inflationary adjustments for this municipal tax,” the report reads.  

The report also claims that the smaller increase will allow the library to increase staffing, fund technology investments and fund an experimental program that would put a public library staff person in a Berkeley public school.  

Mull said she’s waiting to see what the council decides. She added that no matter what decision they make, library employees will do everything in their power to maintain high standards of library service.  

“We’ll do the best we can either way,” she said. “We’ll give the best possible service to our community. That’s where we’re at.”Under the Library Tax Relief Act of 1988, City Council can increase property taxes annually according to one of two indexes, the Bay Area Consumer Price Index, which rises by 2.2 percent annually, or the California Per Capita Income Growth Index, which rises by 2.3 percent a year. The city has not increased the library tax consecutively over the last 15 years, and both the city manager’s and the trustees’ proposals call for a retroactive property tax increase.  

Under the city manager’s proposal, the library tax for a 1,900-square-foot residence would be $245 annually—a $30 increase. The trustees’ increase would translate to a $58 increase on the same sized home for an annual total of $273.  

Commercial and industrial space pay a slightly higher rate. For a 10,000-square-foot building, the tax would go up $238 under the city manager’s proposal for an annual total of $1,955. Under the trustees’ proposal, the annual commercial rate would rise by $463 for a total of $2,180. 

City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque issued an undisclosed memorandum on the legality of the trustees’ proposed increase. According to a councilmember, who asked not to be identified, Albuquerque determined the increase was too large and therefore in violation of the Library Tax Relief Act. 

Mayor Tom Bates said he expects the council to approve the city manager’s proposal. 

“I think we’re going to help them as much as is legally possible to do,” he said. “It’s not as much of an increase as the library services had hoped for, but it’s still a substantial increase.” 

Library Deputy Director Mary Lou Mull said the city manager’s proposal will be just enough to keep the library afloat next year but added that the lesser amount makes no provisions for the library’s long-term health. She said, with the 13.9 percent increase, the budget would not allow for inflationary increases for the purchase of new materials or allow the library to create a reserve fund. The tighter budget would also put immediate pressure on the library for the following year’s budget.  

“The city manager’s proposal will allow us to fill our current vacant positions,” Mull said, “but it will also likely mean that we will have to come back to the council again in 2005 and possibly put a measure on the ballot to increase the library’s base funding to something that would keep us stable.” 

According to a city manager’s report, city officials were unable to justify the trustee’s 27 percent increase. “Staff believes that this is an inappropriate application of the personal income growth index for the purpose of calculating inflationary adjustments for this municipal tax,” the report reads.  

The report also claims that the smaller increase will allow the library to increase staffing, fund technology investments and fund an experimental program that would put a public library staff person in a Berkeley public school.  

Mull said she’s waiting to see what the council decides. She added that no matter what decision they make, library employees will do everything in their power to maintain high standards of library service.  

“We’ll do the best we can either way,” she said. “We’ll give the best possible service to our community. That’s where we’re at.”