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QuickTake:
Library leaders warned of growing financial pressures as the city launches discussions on a 2026 levy renewal. The levy now accounts for 17% of the library's revenue.
The Eugene City Council and city staff at a work session Monday, Sept. 22, discussed the process for asking voters to renew Eugene’s public library levy, which will expire next June.
Councilors last sent the five-year library to the ballot in 2020. At the time, on a 6-2 vote, they had reduced the tax from the 2015 rate of $0.17 per $1,000 of property value to $0.15. That amounts to an average of about $37 per home per year. The levy was then approved by over three-quarters of voters, compared to about 52% of voters who passed the levy in 2015.
During a Monday presentation, Library Services Director Angela Ocaña said it’s becoming “increasingly difficult” to add services, despite libraries’ success facing a tight budget.
Money from the 2020 library levy accounts for about 17% of Eugene Public Library’s funding, while 80% comes from the city’s general fund and 3% from private donations.
Ocaña said levy funds and private donations cover the libraries’ book budget. The libraries have reduced 14 positions over the last four years, she said, adding that it’s becoming harder to add desired services, like a book pickup and drop-off in the River Road-Santa Clara area, as well as a new branch in Bethel.
“The cost just to maintain services across the city is increasing,” Ocaña said.
She said a 2023 library survey showed that residents want more technology lending, increased access to digital collections, and branch expansions into River Road and Santa Clara, as well as larger, upgraded library facilities.
The 2020 levy renewal — which was approved by over three-quarters of voters, compared to about 52% of voters in 2015 — supported 160 hours of library access across three locations, 33 percent more programs, and more materials and technology, according to the city.
She said the library ranks in the top 3% nationwide for its budget level as impact per dollar, “a testament to the library and its staff being able to think creatively” about services and money.
Earlier this year, the city considered closing the city’s downtown library on Sundays and Mondays in order to help narrow Eugene’s $11.5 million 2025-27 budget gap.
Councilors avoided doing so by increasing the city’s stormwater fee by 18%, but during the period of uncertainty before the fee hike, library supporters showed up to council meetings en masse to protest potential cuts and advocate for library access.
Levy timeline; councilor questions
Library, Recreation and Cultural Services Director Joshua Bates said library staff will return to the council on Oct. 27 to discuss the potential concepts for the levy.
In January, staff will present polling results for the levy, and return again for a potential council vote to place the next levy on the ballot. The final day for the council to vote to place the levy on the May ballot is Feb. 18.
Councilor Matt Keating asked what happens if the levy fails or doesn’t appear on the ballot, especially regarding access to the Sheldon and Bethel branches.
“We would have to make significant cuts across the board,” Ocaña replied, adding that the levy funds 18.4 full-time positions. “We don’t know what that looks like, so I can’t answer specifically to the branches, but we know it’d be a really rough patch.”
Councilors asked questions about the levy renewal process, previewing debates likely to resurface in the future regarding how generous the next levy should be.
Randy Groves said he wants levy discussions to reveal a “Goldilocks version” after councilors examine multiple funding levels.
Alan Zelenka — who opposed the 2020 renewal proposal approved by the majority of councilors, which dropped the fee by two cents — reiterated his belief that reducing the levy was a “mistake.”
Councilor Mike Clark asked city staff for more detail regarding plans for a library branch in River Road or Santa Clara, with concerns that county residents who don’t pay city taxes could utilize the service.
In response, Bates said that people who live in the unincorporated parts of Eugene have to pay for library cards, unlike other types of “compulsory” services.
Nonresident cards cost $11 per month, which reflects the average monthly tax paid for public library services by a Eugene household, per the city’s website.
Though work sessions don’t allow for public comment, the library levy has already been raised by residents during past council meetings.
Renée Buchanan, who sits on the Eugene Public Library Foundation Board of Directors, thanked councilors for avoiding library cuts in a June council meeting and voiced support for a potentially more generous levy renewal in 2025.
“I’m confident we have enough library support to pass a library levy that grows the net revenue,” Buchanan said in June. “In the past, with a resounding majority of 76.72%, we can increase the net revenue allotted to the library through our levy, although levies are far from ideal.”
