Taxpayers to cover library’s loan debt

Over the next six years, Jefferson Township taxpayers will pay off a loan that replaced the Hagerstown Jefferson Township Public Library’s roof.

During its Sept. 2 meeting, Wayne County council approved 4-2 the library issuing a six-year bond for up to $230,000 that will repay about $150,000 remaining on the $160,000 loan used for the roof and other improvements. Beth Leisure, Barry Ritter, Gary Saunders and Cathy Williams voted for the bond, while Misty Hollis and Jeff Cappa opposed. Max Smith abstained because of his wife’s affiliation with the library.

The library received the loan without its board’s approval, and the library operating budget cannot cover the debt payments. Staci Lane, the current library board president, said the library has no solution other than the bond, although it has “reinvigorated” its friends organization that provides fundraising. 

Lane said the library loses $73,000 annually in property tax money because of state tax caps and stands to lose another $85,000 in local income tax revenue because libraries are not included in the new local income tax structure the state legislature enacted.

Lane said the leaking roof unquestionably needed replacement, but the funding was not appropriately acquired. The library board has restructured, and new safeguards provide proper oversight of and communication with the current director. The library worked with the State Board of Accounts on those safeguards.

Leisure said she appreciated that the library has taken steps to correct the issues.

Sarah Correll, a municipal finance attorney for Ice Miller, said the $230,000 maximum provides a buffer, but the bond’s proceeds will only be enough to pay the remaining loan debt and cover bond issuance costs. The six-year bond would require a $0.0322 tax rate costing $15.60 annually for the owner of a home assessed at $129,700, the average in the library’s district. The bond is not enough to qualify for a referendum where voters decide whether to enact the tax, Correll said.

Cappa said council needed to consider fairness when handling the library’s request. Council previously rebuffed Morrisson-Reeves Library’s $18 million bond for repairs and renovations. Hollis said council needs to set standards and expectations for funding requests, and public entities should reimagine their fundraising.

Ritter said he was impressed with extensive services the library provides and its value to the general Nettle Creek community, adding that the bond amount is reasonable and necessary. Saunders also said the library provides services to Nettle Creek students, even those from outside Jefferson Township.

Williams said current library leaders inherited a bad situation — saying the milk was already spilled — and were fixing the problem.

Lane and Correll were the only speakers during the public hearing prior to council’s vote.

2027 budget

Council spent more than two hours analyzing each departmental budget for 2027, building a more than $45 million general fund budget that will be advertised on the Department of Local Government Finance website, wwn.to/budgets26, prior to a public hearing.

Most departmental requests were flat from 2026 or included slight increases, so council made minimal tweaks during its analysis.

The advertised budget is padded by $6 million in council’s contingency fund and about $1.5 million as a placeholder for employee raises and longevity stipends. Council will later decide how much to include in its contingency line item, which has generally been $3 million, and what raises it provides employees.

The state has yet to estimate 2027 revenue to indicate where the general fund budget must land to receive DLGF approval. The 2026 budget’s general fund was approved at $40,067,734.

Other issues

• Council unanimously approved an interlocal agreement providing Cambridge City Police Department with $6,180.76 from the county’s share of settlement money from opioid manufacturers, distributors and retailers. The money is to replace computer equipment destroyed by last month’s flooding.
• Council agreed that the county’s mileage reimbursement rate would rise to 64 cents per mile in September following the state’s increase. A 2008 resolution provides that the county rate will match the state rate.
• Council approved posting and hiring for an emergency communications specialist after a retirement.
• Council approved reclassifying the position that will oversee the new voice-over internet protocol phone system to a network administration level earning $35.98 per hour effective Jan. 1. The county’s human resources consultant Waggoner Irwin Scheele & Associates of Muncie recommended the reclassification. 
• Council approved the health department transferring $5,000 to its overtime line item because of hours worked during the flooding emergency.
• Council appropriated $20,000 from its contingency fund for Superior Court 3 to pay for mental health competency evaluations. Adam McQueen, the county’s chief probation officer, said such evaluations doubled this year.
• Council appropriated $1,500 from contingency for overtime in Superior 3. McQueen said the closing of Hagerstown’s town court increased the number of infractions Superior 3 must handle, causing the court reporter to work beyond her 37 1/2-hour week.