Ballot Issue 6D is on the ballot this election cycle as a request for additional funding for the Berthoud Community Library. The proposal seeks to increase property taxes by $1,275,000 annually beginning in 2022, with annual increases of the initial amount plus the summed total of inflation plus growth through 2052 to fund the construction of a new library to be built at the property at Waggener Farm Park, adjacent to the Berthoud Recreation Center that is scheduled to open in November.

The Berthoud library board of directors have been discussing the possibility of building a new library for several years. In a press release, the board stated, “Our small library was built 28 years ago when Berthoud had only 3,000 people. Today, our growth has put our population over 15,000, moving quickly to 20,000 with no slowing in sight. This six-fold population growth has put tremendous strain on our families and community to access library services. Library CEO Amie Pilla says, ‘Over 100 people walk through our library doors daily and the library checks out 143 books or materials a day, and over 2,500 people yearly attend a library-sponsored cultural or educational event. But the library has to routinely turn people away because we don’t have enough meeting space, computer terminals or private study/workspaces for students and adults.’”

The Town of Berthoud has agreed to lend the site on the Waggener Farm property for the location. At the regular meeting of the Berthoud Board of Trustees on Oct. 19, the board voted unanimously for a proclamation of support for Ballot Issue 6D. The Berthoud Fire Protection District Board has also passed a resolution in support for the new library.

A special taxing district was voter-approved in November of 2007 that imposed a 2.4 mill levy on residential property within the district. The library district encompasses the same geographic area as the Berthoud Fire Protection District – the area east of I-25 and west of Carter Lake, north to Highway 60 and south to County Road 36.

6D will increase the mill levy by 4.393 mills. The total mill levy will increase to 6.793 mills if 6D passes. The voter language states 6D will raise the property tax by $2.97 per month which equals $35.64 per year, per $100,000 of home value, beginning in January of 2022. For a home valued at $500,000, the increase would be $178.20 per year beginning in 2022 plus whatever the homeowner is currently paying.

According to the ballot language, the increase will provide for the construction of a new, larger library building to meet growing community needs, with separate spaces for children and teens, new community meeting rooms, an innovation lab and recording studio, expanded computer lab and internet capacity for public use, continually adding best-sellers, classics, audio/E-books and movies all for free, and to fund the supporting the cost of staffing and general operations.

Why should the citizens in the library district approve the tax increase? According to supporters, the library offers free educational resources to everyone, the library helps boost the local economy, the library plays an important role in English language learning, libraries make communities healthier, they preserve history, libraries help connect communities, libraries assist the underserved populations.

Opponents of the measure cite that this is yet another tax increase for homeowners that will continue for 30 years. Opponents also say that while the ends are worthy – as were recently passed tax increases for the Thompson School District, Larimer County Mental Health initiatives, recreation projects and many others – higher taxes mean more money out of the pockets of those who already face high-income taxes, sales taxes, gasoline taxes and the like. With inflation increasing at rates not seen in decades and growth in the area considerable, the asked-for tax increase could put property owners on the hook for several hundred or even thousands of dollars more per year in tax burdens in a time of economic uncertainty.

Election day is Nov. 2. Ballots can be dropped off at any of the 23 locations in Larimer County. There is a drop-off location in Berthoud on the east side of the library at 236 Welch Ave.