The Randall Town Board is considering leaving the Community Library.
Town Board members discussed the action at a meeting Thursday, but did not make a final decision.
Randall joined the joint municipal library — which also includes Salem Lakes, Paddock Lake and Twin Lakes — in 1993, when a branch was opened in Twin Lakes.
State statutes require property owners pay a tax to support a library. In the case of the Community Library municipalities, the tax funds support the Community Library. Property taxpayers in the other county municipalities that do not have their own library have their tax directed to the Kenosha County Library System, of which the Kenosha Public Library and Community LIbrary are members.
Randall board members favoring the change pointed out Thursday that preliminary information suggests the total tax levied for the county system as opposed to the Community Library would be less. Supervisor Julie Horbach said she was told by a representative of the state Department of Administration a levy against all taxable Randall property for the county system would be about $200,000. The Community Library levied about $219,000. The county system would mean about a $20,000 savings spread across the entire Randall tax base.
At the start of the meeting, six audience members spoke on the issue. Of those, one supported the board looking at options, while the other five urged the board to stay with the Community Library. One of those supporters of the Community Library was Katie Bjorkman, a Randall resident who sits on the Community Library Board of Trustees representing Wilmot Union High School. Two of the Community Library supporters identified themselves as Randall residents. The other three said they were Twin Lakes residents.
Bernadette Elverman, a Randall resident and an officer of Friends of the Community Library, emphasized the many programs in addition to lending books that the library offers, a common theme for the supporters.
“I am a happy taxpayer because I believe paying taxes is a responsibility,” Elverman said.
Bjorkman also emphasized in her comments the services the library provides.
“This library serves our Randall community,” Bjorkman said.
Kim Lewis, a Twin lakes resident, said Randall dropping out — and the diversion of that tax revenue to the county system — would likely diminish the branch in Twin Lakes that the communities have shared for 30 years.
Board members that favor the change emphasized a financial argument that focused on being able to lower taxes for town residents.
Town Chairperson Paula Soderman said the town is facing having to raise over $200,000 a year for a new proposal to fund 24/7 staff emergency medical services staff for Twin Lakes Rescue, which serves the town. Therefore, the board is looking for other places to trim to lighten the impact.
“What we are talking about today is trying to be responsible,” Soderman said. “We do have to look at how libraries have changed. As our world changes, we have to look at all of those things.”
Said Supervisor George Bailitz, “There’s nothing wrong with the Town Board looking for ways to save money.”
Acknowledging the projected initial $20,000 savings may not be a large amount, but Horbach said “we have to start cutting somewhere.”
Soderman pointed out Randall residents will still be able to access all services of any library in the county even if the town is no longer part of the Community Library.
Supervisor Nancy Kemp, who also is a member of the Community Library Board and the Kenosha County Library System board, explained how that financial support will change. Instead of all of Randall library tax money going to the Community Library, the taxes sent to the county system will fund joint services. With Randall not part of the Community Library. money will come to the Community Library from Randall based on how many physical items like books are taken out by Randall residents, who will now be considered non-resident users.
Supervisor Tim Gaffron tried to get at the impact of the $20,000 savings to individual taxpayers to gauge whether financially the change was worth “upsetting the apple cart” but stats to do so were not readily available.
Gaffron eventually asked for the board to wait until at least the next meeting to make a decision so some outstanding questions could be answered. Kemp had also advocated for waiting.
Ultimately the board agreed to wait to a future meeting, but not so long as to jeopardize the deadline for action this year.
