The folks behind the signs asking people to vote against the Crystal Lake Library advisory referendum on borrowing $30.1 million have a handout.
You can read it below:
This is what the opponents to the $30.1 million advisory bond referendum for the Crystal Lake Library are handing out.
The contact information is StoptheTrustees@gmail.com.
Is this about reasons to vote no or an attack on the library trustees?
Is it fair to make such accusations of public volunteers while hiding in anonymity?
Someone made these same accusations back in February and their mistakes and misinformation were refuted by the Library Board’s president and lawyer.
Seems kind of dishonest to repeat them now when the author knows they’re wrong.
Oh my…
Need.
Better.
Literature.
“Someone made these same accusations back in February and their mistakes and misinformation were refuted by the Library Board’s president and lawyer.”
Got a link to the point and counterpoint?
“Oh my…Need. Better. Literature.”
Why?
The referendum is going to lose 80/20 no matter what.
The only positive contribution this movement can make is getting most of the trustees sacked to prevent them from taking another crack at it in five years.
So the Village bought land on which to build the library, before obtaining any type of approval, binding or non-binding, from the voters, to build a new library.
And since Crystal Lake is a home rule community, they don’t need voter approval to issue bonds.
As has been pointed out previously, the Crystal Lake taxpayers have not been informed about the total cost to an individual taxpayer to build the library.
The Crystal Lake taxpayers have only been told about the year 1 cost in taxes.
Many more details available by clicking on the Posted in tags under the article and searching the blog.
This from the library website.
“The costs associated with a new facility are comparable to the 20 year figure for repairs of our community’s current facility.”
School districts have been giving the same pitch in recent years, that is, the cost to build new is about the same as the cost to maintain.
But the taxpayers are never given those costs in detail.
Maybe someday someone will submit a FOIA request for all the documents and emails containing cost figures for the project, including any reports and presentations presented to the administration or board.
+++++
Construction costs have gotten sky high in Illinois government in no small part due to state mandated prevailing wage law.
**“Oh my…Need. Better. Literature.”
Why?
The referendum is going to lose 80/20 no matter what.**
Then what is the point on doing the flyer?
If you’re going to a flyer, do it well.
Have you ever considered that all concerned taxpayers are not graphic artists or copywriters?
Cal – yes, I have.
This is constructive criticism – if you want someone to read your flyer, it needs to presented decently.
No one is going to read all those words.
“No one is going to read all those words”
??? Did you really just say that???
This is proof we REALLY don’t need to expand the Crystal Lake Library!
Won’t all of you taxpayers just think of the kids and elderly?
You don’t think they deserve a new $30 million dollar building?
They might have to walk up steps, bend over to reach a low-shelved book, call for help from one of our librarians who collectively make $3 million a year to reach a book way up high, park down the street during the 1% of operating hours that the parking lot is full, or suffer the indignity of using a building that although it isn’t 100% environmentally friendly it nevertheless has adequate temperature control.
They might even have to sit on the floor the next time the librarians pull a publicity stunt and invite an entire K-8 school to show how over capacity the place is!
The indignity!
Two letters, they have been told repeatedly and still do not understand for a library is this >>>>> “NO” >>
Stop burdening the TAX PAYERS!
what part of this do you not get!!!
Library people!!!!! ?????
I have written letters with facts showing the CL Library is already unreasonably expensive on an absolute basis and compared with other libraries.
But there’s another issue, what I think is an important perspective
and I sure wish some people would write letters to the Northwest Herald about it.
The issue is that not your vote is not just about whether you would like a fancy new library or not, but whether this issue is so vital that you feel you have the right to raise taxes on everyone else for a new library — on the elderly, on the working families.
I would love to see a letter from a senior citizen saying
I’d love to see a letter from a young family saying
The issues of the library building are not going away.
We are facing the same question we faced in 2004 – do we spend more money on the facility or do we invest in our future.
If we don’t invest now we’ll have spent more money on a inadequate building, we’ll face the same question in another 8 to 10 years, we’ll spend more money on research and due diligence and the cost of a new building will continue to increase.
Vote YES for our future!
Crystal Lake Library Advisory Referendum flyer.
Election November 8, 2016
Following is the letter from the blog post.
++++++++
Library Referendum
Vote “No”
We support and value the library, but reject the Library Board’s excessive agenda.
Reasons to vote “No”:
———————-
In 2004, 73% of voters said “NO” to the Library Board’s request for $18.8 million to build a new library.
In 2004, the increase in property taxes on a $200,000 home would have been $88.
Now [2016] the Board is asking for $30.1 million, which the Trustees say will result in a $132 tax increase for a $200,000 home.
———————
In 2016, a house valued at $200,000 have been assessed approximately $7,912, before exemptions, in property taxes.
The current rate of taxpayer funding for the library is 3.61% or $285.61 on a $200,000 house.
Assuming the $132 increase suggested by the Trustees, the cost of the bonds would increase taxpayer funding for the library to $417.61 or 5.19% if total taxes on this house were increased to $8,044.
This would represent a massive 46% increase in taxpayer funding for the library.
—————
If the Board gets its way, Crystal Lake taxpayers would pay 18.9% more for the library than we pay for the Park District.
With its 4.44% share of property taxes, the Park District provides great value.
According to its annual report, the Park District:
– Maintains 41 parks totaling 1,400 acres of land.
– Manages the ecology of Crystal Lake – making it the 5th cleanest lake in Illinois.
– Operates 17 independent facilities
– Provides quality programs and free special events for citizens of all ages.
———-
Without a mandate or support from the community to expand, the Library Board Trustees spent $1.4 million between July 2014 and Feb 2015 to buy four real estate parcels around the library’s existing site.
Contrary to Illinois law, the Board took title to three of the properties under Home Bank Trust #6114 to conceal its activities.
An analysis of publicly available information suggests the Board paid roughly $650,000 (87%) above prevailing market rates for the properties.
———
Both the IL statute that governs libraries (75 ILCS 5/4-3.1 and the Library Board’s own by-laws state that the Library Board Trustees should be elected, with terms of 4 – 6 years.
Instead, citing home rule, the Board has be reappointed year after year.
Six of the ten Board members have remained on the board well past these limits:
Carol Heisler and Bill Weller for 14 and 15 years, respectively;
Alice Fellers, Don Peters, Terri Reece, and Kim Martens for over 8 years each.
This has resulted in an insular thinking Board that lacks fresh perspectives and is out of touch with the community.
——–
Vote “NO” on the Library Board’s overreaching request.
Vote “NO” to tell the City Council that you do not support this use of taxpayer funds.
Contact us at
StopTheTrustees
@
gmail
.
com
@ TERRI Reece, President of the CL Library
Board of Trustees.
You NEED TO READ & PROCESS LT Resident &
Steve Wilson’s posts above.
This is about the BIG PICTURE and
The MANY OTHER EXPENSIVE BIG PROJECTS
That OVERBURDENED TAXPAYERS are going to
Be paying for in the next couple of years.
My 89 year old severely brain injured & disabled
MOTHER (who receives 24 hour care at home) is one
Of the people you will be OVERBURDENING with YOUR
WANT, NOT NEED, TAX !
She has been handicapped for 26 years & does not
Even talk now.
YOU Terri & the Library Board DON’T CARE this is
YET ANOTHER TAX added on to her living & healthcare
Expenses !
When the homes that were purchased by the City (and rented out today) have to be bulldozed for the construction of the new library, what is the annual lost revenue to each taxing body that currently receives levy revenue today from those homes?
Should that not also be considered a “cost” to the taxpayers beyond the projected annual principal and interest cost to service the $30+ million in debt incurred for this project?
That sounds like a threat to waste our tax dollars, Terri.
I know that you’re only accountable to Shepley and the Boys, but do you really think it’s prudent to thumb your nose at the overwhelming majority of voters like that?
Terri Reece keeps making the same assertion without evidence.
The library is “inadequate”.
Inadequate for what?
She never says.
She never provides ANY evidence, much less $30 million of evidence.
Our library is NOT “inadequate”.
All it really are needs WiFi, shelves, books, kiosks, a few meeting rooms, bathrooms, and enough space in back for the staff to sort books — all of which it has.
Further, circulation is down 20%, daily foot traffic is down 24%, and the meeting rooms are booked around 30% of the time.
There are huge numbers of libraries all across the country that our older than ours and still working fine — just as the CL Library is.
But the Library board is threatening to spend $9 million on “repairs” if the new bond issue doesn’t pass.
That’s over $200 per square foot!
How can it be possible to spend $200 per square foot on repairs when brand new commercial space is being built in our area for $100?
Would you spend $450,000 to “repair” your $225,000 house? Of course not!
“enough space in back for the staff to sort books”
Steve, there’s an interesting corollary question to that point.
The librarians are howling for an automated book checker-in doohickie.
Presumably this will reduce the amount of labor required to check in books.
If they get it, can we expect a corresponding reduction in staffing?
Also, who’s doing this unskilled manual labor?
I’d hope it’s a minimum wage hourly employee, but my deep suspicion is that it’s a $75k per year, Cadillac-pensioned librarian.