Previous library monies now funds other ventures

By JESSICA KELLER
ARGUS OBSERVER
Monday, August 31, 2009 11:50 AM PDT

Children play at the Ontario Aquatic Center Friday. General fund money that was previously directed to the Ontario library will primarily be used to make key repairs at the Aquatic Center in the new few years, such as possibly a new roof.

ONTARIO — Ontario residents should not expect to see any return property taxes that used to go toward funding the Ontario library now that an Ontario Library District has formed.

The City of Ontario stopped providing funding for the newly-named Ontario Community Library June 30, the end of the last budget cycle. As it was, the city was only putting approximately $200,000 a year, or approximately $400,000 a biennium, into the library when an Ontario Library District — the new taxing district for the library — was approved by voters.

Now that the Ontario Library District has formed, the money the city allocated to operate and maintain the library has returned to its general fund, which is used to fund most city services besides utilities, including the Aquatic Center, parks and recreation, cemetery, police and fire.

“Well, it’s money that basically was not extra money when it started,” City Manager Henry Lawrence said of the money previously alloted to the library.

He said, the problem is, through the years, to maintain all the various services, the city has had to spend more money than it had coming in through taxes — dipping into city reserves — to help pay for the library.

ADVERTISEMENT

Now, the Ontario Library District is running the library as its own separate taxing district, which means voters approved an increase in property taxes so those funds could run the library separately from the city. In turn, that money was freed up for the City of Ontario, relieving some of the pressure of consistently having to dip into reserves and allowing that money to be used for other things, Lawrence said.

“I’m not sure how much $200,000 would equate to every household,” if it were to be returned, Lawrence said.

For this budget cycle, at least, the money previously directed to the library will be used primarily for the Aquatic Center.

The City Council approved spending funds to pay for a number of smaller projects and will consider paying for a brand new roof in this budget cycle as well.

“But we’re looking at several hundred thousand dollars in renovations and repairs in the next few years,” Lawrence said.

The city would have had to borrow money to make those improvements, and it appears now it won’t have to, Lawrence said.

Lawrence pointed out, again, it wasn’t money the city had to give back anyway because it was money basically from the city’s emergency fund and borrowed money. He said, the fact that the city has stabilized its budget and is not in a spiral of deficit spending is a good thing.

“I think our citizens would be happy to know we’re trying to live within our means,” he said.

Ontario resident Riley Hill said he could not comment on the best use of the funds now that they have been returned to the general fund.

“I don’t know what it should be used for. I just know the Ontario residents are paying double now,” he said.

Hill said, he’s pro-library, but when the county stopped contributing to the library, property taxes didn’t go down, and now that the city isn’t putting the money to the library, the city taxpayers’ property taxes weren’t reduced, and Hill wonders why the taxpayer of Ontario should bare most of the burden.

“It’s an additional tax on the citizens of Ontario,” Hill said.

He said, to make it fair, the city taxpayers should either have gotten that money returned, or the library district should have paid rent to the city of Ontario for the building.

“It’s the equity of the thing,” he said. “The Ontario taxpayer is the one that is bearing the biggest amount of taxes.”