By Bob Balgemann

REPORTER

Two weeks before the final vote on the new tax levy for the city of Belvidere, officials of the Ida Public Library came to city hall to once again ask for a small increase in revenue.

This time their appearance was under financial difficulties caused by the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic. And once again there was a split among aldermen over the requested 2.3-percent adjustment from the library, this year amounting to $18,301.

There also was a new issue this year, that being whether the city with its Home Rule powers could, or could not, deny the library’s request for more money. City Attorney Mike Drella said he could not give aldermen an answer.

He put it this way: “The (state) statute provides the city shall levy the amount as presented by the library board. I cannot tell you that as a Home Rule community you can decrease the library’s levy, or that you cannot. The direction coming out of committee was not to grant the entire levy. It cites our Home Rule authority and it nullifies the statute that requires municipalities to levy that amount.

“If we were dealing with a city department, I could definitely tell you that you had the authority to do that. The open question, the one I can’t answer, absent litigation, is what is the exact status of the library? Being the city of Belvidere cannot use its Home Rule authority to interfere with the actions of another governmental unit.”

Earlier in the meeting the library director, Louis Carlile, appeared in person before some aldermen and the mayor, in the city council meeting room.

“The city is actually over-stepping its authority,” he told them. “We are only asking for the minimum rate that we are entitled to. The library is part of the city. City council does not have the right to withhold the levy that is the library’s. We did get proper legal advice on this.”

“After what we went through last year, and what we discussed this year, we don’t have a right to take their levy,” Mayor Mike Chamberlain said in response. “It’s not up to us. It (tax money) just passes through our hands.”

Budget review

There was some back and forth over aldermen taking a look at the library’s 2020-21 budget.

Alderman Ric Brereton said he asked for a copy of the budget a couple of weeks ago, so he could determine how the $18,301 being requested by the library was going to be spent.

“I chose not to present the budget (tonight) because I didn’t want to get beat over the head by the budget, and get off track,” Carlile answered. “I would be happy to come back at another time and discuss the budget.”

Brereton pressed for how the $18,000 was going to be spent? He said he would want to know that if someone asked him for $20, and now he wanted to know that about the $18,000.

Carlile said it was going into the budget for salaries, building maintenance, and materials.

“Who’s getting the biggest salary increase?” the alderman asked.

“That would be the director,” Carlile responded.

“How much of an increase?” Brereton inquired.

“It all depends on whether they (library board) actually allow it,” said Carlile, who became library director in March. “I am paid in the 10th percentile for a library our size with our population. I asked for health insurance, vacation benefits, and a salary increase and I was turned down on two of the three. So, they’re saying I can get up to $18,000.”

“Coincidence?” Brereton asked, referring to the requested amount and potential pay increase for the director.

“Actually, it is a coincidence,” Carlile replied. “But you’ve had three directors in the last three years. Coincidence? Maybe.”

It was learned later that copies of the library budget were at city hall, as part of the annual audit process, and could be reviewed.

To that, the mayor suggested that aldermen take a look at it in the two weeks before the final vote on the levy. “This (levy) is not a voting issue this evening,” he reminded council.

Some comments

Alderman Marsha Freeman said council had not increased the city levy for three years, while increasing it for the library. She agreed with Brereton about wanting to know where the library’s requested $18,301 would go. “I think I heard most of it would be going for salary increases,” she said. “So I will be voting ‘no’ for the levy increase for the city and for the library.”

At that point city council was looking at a 7-2 recommendation from the Committee of the Whole, made at its Nov. 23 meeting, to maintain the status quo and deny Tobin’s request for a levy increase that would have brought the city an additional $125,685. Second and final reading of the related ordinance is due Dec. 21.

Also at the Dec. 7 council meeting, Alderman Dan Snow addressed the problem with salaries being faced by the library.

“These people are not spending money willy-nilly, on frivolous things,” he said of library officials. “One of their biggest challenges is the state Legislature decided to raise the minimum wage $1 an hour every year. They (library) have staff working at minimum wage on a continuous basis.

“This (levy) is their primary source of revenue. They also have numerous infrastructure issues that they have to address. They don’t have the money to do that. They have no resources other than the tax levy.”

 
 
 
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