Kentucky: Library Tax Lawsuits Filed in Five Counties
From the AP:
Rulings in lawsuits seeking to reduce library taxes in Anderson and Montgomery counties could have implications for other Kentucky libraries, attorneys said.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that a civil lawsuit filed in May seeks to roll the Anderson County library tax back to its level in 1967, when the library was organized. A suit filed in June would reduce the Montgomery County library tax to its level in 1980.
The suits argue that the library districts have improperly raised tax rates for decades without voter approval, as required by state law.
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Brandon Voelker, a lawyer in Cold Spring, filed the two suits, along with three others in Kenton, Campbell and Boone counties in Northern Kentucky. Voelker said the suits aren’t meant to start a debate “on whether libraries are good or bad.”
“It’s a matter of whether the people have a right to decide the size and scope of their library,” he said.
Ben Crittenden, attorney for Anderson county’s library, says the library did not charge a tax increase that was improperly enacted.
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See Also: Kentucky Library Suits Threaten District Tax Funding Statewide (April 18, 2013 via LJ)
See Also: Funding: “Court Ruling Has Kentucky Libraries on Edge”
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.