Library board opts for renewal of 1-mill countywide levy

YOUNGSTOWN — The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County board has decided to ask voters for a five-year renewal of an existing 1-mill countywide levy on Nov. 3.

The board voted for this measure because this is the levy it expects the Mahoning County commissioners will place on the ballot for the library system at their 10 a.m. Thursday meeting in the county courthouse basement, said Janet Loew, library communications and public relations director.

The library board took the action by a 7-2 vote in a Tuesday meeting at the system’s Newport Branch, which opened Feb. 7.

The dissenting votes came from library board members John H. Yerian III and Judge Mary DeGenaro.

The decision concerning what type and size of library levy goes on the ballot is in the hands of the county commissioners, Loew said. The commissioners’ deadline to place levies on the Nov. 3 ballot is Aug. 20.

The levy the voters would be asked to renew generates $3.07 million annually through Dec. 31, 2010. It costs the owner of a $100,000 home $26.95 annually.

The library board had previously recommended a 1.7-mill, five-year levy, consisting of a 1-mill replacement levy and a 0.7-mill additional levy.

In its Tuesday resolution recommending only the renewal for Nov. 3, the library board rescinded its earlier resolution recommending the 1.7-mill measure, which would have generated $6.87 million annually.