County Library System Tax Question Heading For The November Ballot

Communities served by the St. Louis County Library System, including the areas served by the library's, will be asked to support a 6 cent tax increase when the question appears before voters in November.

The increase, which library officials say would mean $17.10 per year on a home valued at $150,000, is the first request since April 1983. The move was approved by library trustees April 16.

Funds from the increase would pay for improvements identified in the agency's Master Plan, which was released in February.

"There is no question that our Library and its branches are an integral part of our community, a vast educational asset and the core of our educational system outside the schools," Library Director Charles Pace said in a statment. "This is an investment that will be returned many times over well into the future."

For the Thornhill Branch, the Master Plan calls for replacing the existing building with a new facility on the existing site on Willowyck Drive. The review says the current branch location is "unable to meet current and future needs of library users," and that staff work areas could be more efficient.

James Baer contributed information for this report