LAFAYETTE, La. (KATC) — A Lafayette Parish library tax responsible for 65 percent of the funds that keep your local library doors open is going to be on the May 16 ballot.
The measure, which Library Director Danny Gillane said will be on the bottom or even the back of mail-in ballots, asks voters to renew a 3.12-mill property tax starting in 2027 and lasting for the next 10 years. Gillane told KATC the tax is not only a renewal, but an increase as part of a reappraisal of Lafayette Parish library property by the tax assessor's office, which is also noted on the ballot. Without it, Gillane said the library system wouldn't make the same money from the tax as it did before the reappraisal. To see a sample ballot for yourself, click here.
The tax garners a grand total of $8.89 million a year for operation and maintenance of buildings and services, as well as for library staff, according to Gillane. He said this would also go toward helping with the construction of the incoming Northeast Regional Library and renovations to the North Regional Library in Carencro. While this tax renewal does fund more than half of the library system's needs, it's not the only property tax generating money. For a full breakdown of the taxes and how library funding works, see reporting from our media partners at The Advocate.
If the measure fails on the May 16 ballot, Gillane told KATC he plans to revisit it on future ballots, as early as November and continuing as necessary, as he stated the funding is crucial.
