Provo is considering a property tax increase to offset the public library’s $800,000 budget deficit. For the average homeowner, the increase would mean $12 a year.

The City Council approved the proposal in an initial vote during a “Truth in Taxation” meeting on August 13 by a vote of 6 to 1.

Library director Carla Gordon said they had not asked for tax increases for many years because they rely on savings. After moving into the historic Brigham Young Academy When the new building was built in 2001, “they increased our fiscal capacity to the maximum, even though they knew that moving from the old building to the new, larger building would require more staff and would cost more money.”

But the business “didn’t cost as much money as they thought. And so they put the surplus into a savings account every year instead of just spending it for ten years.”

Because of inflation, their costs eventually exceeded their revenues. Instead of raising taxes, Gordon said, “the decision was made not to ask for more money, but to tap into the very solid savings account.”

Finally, last year, the library reached a point where it could no longer cover those costs through savings, at which point it initially requested a tax increase of $100,000 and planned incremental increases of $100,000 per year for the next five years.

But instead of a small increase, a large one was ultimately needed this year.

Some of their tax revenues, other than property taxes, “are down $200,000 to $300,000,” Gordon said. When accounting for inflation, the deficit was about $800,000.

It also did not help that the savings this year had to be used for major building maintenance projects and therefore the deficit could not be made up there.

Ultimately, they had to demand an increase of $450,000. The remaining $350,000 will be offset by cuts.

There has already been a “10% drop in all purchases of books, magazines, e-books and audiobooks,” Gordon said. They also canceled their subscriptions to music and movie streaming services and diverted funds from a foundation to pay for some building costs.

By increasing the property tax, the library would cut jobs and save working hours.

During the fiscal session, councilors noted how packed the room was and how many hundreds of comments they had received, most of which were supportive. Residents talked about how the library helps with everything from community building to finding work after homelessness.

Luke Pryor has lived in Provo for 5 years. He talked about a long commute that library resources can brighten up. “Listening to an audiobook during the 30-minute drive is probably the best part of my day.”

Without access to the library, he adds, looking through so many books would be far too expensive.

Councilman Travis Hoban was the only one to say no in the preliminary vote, saying his hesitation stems from the fact that “the library’s deficit is kind of a moving target,” referring to the $100,000 tax increase the library already received last year.

Hoban said he would “love to see what we can do in terms of annual grants, donations and corporate sponsorships.”

While he admits that there is “no magic formula,” he also wonders whether the deficit could not be further reduced by “increasing certain fees that are more voluntarily charged, such as the rent for conference rooms and the like.”

The proposed increase will be put in writing and presented to the August 20 meeting, at which time a formal vote will also be held.