QuickTake:

The council seemed to favor a slight increase of the levy amount, but have not yet decided how much. They asked for more information about the cost of adding a west Eugene book kiosk. Voters would have the final say, possibly on the May ballot.

Eugene councilors are considering a renewal of the city’s library levy — and raised the idea of tweaking one of the three options under consideration to add a book-lending kiosk in west Eugene’s Churchill neighborhood.

Councilors discussed the city’s library levy during a work session Wednesday, Jan. 14, looking for ways to preserve services — and potentially expand the city library system, which has about 99,000 people with library cards.

The council has a deadline of Feb. 18 to decide which levy option, if any, to put to voters on the May 19 ballot.

Councilors said they support an option which would raise the tax rate by 2 cents, allowing the city to expand early literacy efforts. That option would levy 17 cents per $1,000, an average cost per home of $49 per year, and generate about $3.86 million annually for the library system.

But councilors asked city staff if they could research the estimated cost of purchasing and installing the kiosk, so they can consider adding that into the proposal’s final figure. Currently, book-vending kiosks are included only in the city’s more expensive levy option, which would increase the current levy amount by 4 cents.

Councilor Mike Clark made the motion for the council to advance the 2-cent option, with more research into the kiosk. The council supported that approach unanimously.

“There’s an awful lot of people who are waiting for us to act,” Clark said.

City councilors will meet Jan. 28 to learn more about the kiosk option and decide whether to increase the proposed 17-cent levy option to pay for that extra feature.

In 2020, more than 75% of voters approved the current five-year levy, which charges residents a property tax rate of 15 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. That has amounted to about $37 annually for a typical house, to help pay for library services. The revenue makes up about 17% of Eugene Public Library’s funding. The levy will expire in June if it is not renewed.

The three options for the 2026 that councilors discussed are: 

  1. Maintain the current tax rate of 15 cents per $1,000, for an average cost per home of $43 per year. This would raise about $3.45 million annually. This would maintain library services and pay for the development of a long-term libraries plan.
  2. Increase the tax rate to 17 cents per $1,000, an average cost per home of $49 per year. It would generate about $3.86 million annually. This option would add an early literacy librarian, with additional youth programming.
  3. Increase the tax rate to 19 cents per $1,000, for an average cost per home of $56 per year. It would raise about $4.42 million annually. That option would add neighborhood book-vending kiosks with return units in west Eugene, River Road and south Eugene.

Councilors said they liked the idea of the kiosks, which allow the library system to expand services without building a new facility. If one kiosk is incorporated into the second option, that would help the city keep costs down, officials said.

Ben Botkin covers politics and policy in Lane County. He has worked as a journalist since 2003, most recently at the Oregon Capital Chronicle, where he covered justice, health and human services and documented regional efforts to combat fentanyl addiction. Botkin has worked in statehouses in Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma and, of course, Oregon. When he's not working, you'll find him road tripping across the West, hiking or surfing along the Oregon Coast.