Area residents will vote on countywide library services

By Don Bowen/Fremont Tribune
Thursday, Aug 28, 2008 - 11:10:34 am CDT

Some voters in Dodge County have another choice to make at the general election in November.

At their regular meeting Wednesday morning, Dodge County supervisors approved a resolution to place a proposal for countywide library services on the ballot.

Voters who don’t live in Fremont, North Bend, Scribner, Snyder, Hooper and Dodge will vote on a proposal that would allow them to have library services from any of the six public libraries in the county.

The proposal was introduced by Ann Stephens, director of Keene Memorial Library in Fremont, who said she believes everyone in the county should be allowed library services.

The nearly 7,000 voters in rural Dodge County plus voters in Nickerson, Inglewood and Uehling will decide on the issue, which would add about $17 per $100 valuation to their property taxes, said Dodge County Clerk and Dodge County Election Commissioner Fred Mytty.

The overall estimated

annual cost is just more than $186,500. Stephens submitted calculations to the supervisors in June.

After an earlier proposal failed in 1994 by a vote, Stephens said in June that she wanted to bring it up again because of the growing number of residents moving into developments outside Fremont’s city limits.

“When those people move into their homes they’re shocked to find out they don’t have library service,” said Stephens, who has been director at Keene Memorial Library for more than 17 years. “We charge them $35 for a library card because that’s about what we get funded from the city per capita. There are a lot of new people moving into those lake developments.”

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Shocked
Aug 28, 2008 2:37 PM
Come on Ann. People are shocked! Who of the three people I saw at the Library last time I was there looked shocked? Our library is too big as is for the amount of useage it gets. Next thing we will hear is that they want to expand the library because so many people outside of Fremont want to use it.
Allison
Aug 28, 2008 4:07 PM
You might actually be shocked if you had the facts about the numbers served by the library and the needs that this facility doesn't meet. It's easy to throw stones with out the information. But, I realize facts get in the way of the anti govt/anti city arugments.
KC
Aug 28, 2008 5:21 PM
If you look at the amount of use the library gets on a typical day in the summer--especially during Summer Reading Program--you'll notice that the library is in dire need of more space. Same with after school time. Can a community really afford to not invest in a place for lifelong learning? Especially when it's an important place for kids? I think not. Get a clue, "Shocked."
CM
Aug 28, 2008 11:31 PM
Shocked
That is because the shocked people like myself walked right back out the door after I found out I could not check out books unless I paid $35 a year.

But I wouldn't be surprised to see a new building on the agenda if this passes.
Maybe it would be warranted but I would always question the judgment because of how they totally replaced the underground sprinkler system a few years back.
You will be hard pressed to find anyone that has ever totally replaced a underground sprinkler system unless they have done major construction or extensively changed the landscape, it just does not happen because it is more cost effective to repair the existing system. But not if you are spending other people's money.
kwho
Aug 29, 2008 8:55 AM
Is it really $17 per $100 valuation?
Larry Jirsak
Aug 29, 2008 9:01 AM
The part of the news story that reads "...would add about $17 per $100 valuation to their property taxes, said Dodge County Clerk and Dodge County Election Commissioner Fred Mytty" contains a typo. It should read "$17 per $100,000."

Here's the math: The assessed value of property outside of the six library's service areas is $1,094,554,516 divided by $186,500 (which is a possible county contribution) equals $0.00017. $.00017 x 100,000 = $17.00 per $100,000.