County libraries' merger ideas put on hold

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- An attorney general's opinion issued last week likely has squelched a tentative move to formally consolidate the Riverside Regional Library system.

Although operated as a unified system for nearly 50 years, Riverside actually consists of three legally separate county library districts in Cape Girardeau, Perry and Scott counties.

In a legal opinion dated Feb. 3, Attorney General Jay Nixon said the libraries would have to levy property taxes at the same rate in order to consolidate. Changing the levy would require voter approval.

Library director Nancy Howland said there was never a firm plan in place to pursue consolidation but that some on Riverside's governing board wanted to explore the option as a way to strengthen the system. The board will discuss Nixon's opinion at its Feb. 26 meeting in Jackson, but Howland expects no further action on the issue.

"I'd say it is probably off the table for awhile," she said.

State law allows two or more county library districts to consolidate with the approval of their respective county commissions but only if the districts have the same tax rate.

Voters approved property tax rates of 10 cents per $100 assessed valuation in all three districts when they were established in 1955. However, the Missouri Constitution requires taxing entities to lower the rates they actually levy following the biennial property reassessments to ensure they don't profit from a rise in property values.

Since the three library districts are independent legal entities, reassessments have affected their tax rates differently. At present, the Scott County district levies a tax of 9.68 cents per $100 assessed valuation, with Perry County charging 9.11 cents and Cape Girardeau County levying 8.32 cents.

Riverside officials were unsure whether the library consolidation law referred to the voter-approved rate, which the districts share, or their actual levies. At the board's urging, state Rep. Scott Lipke, R-Jackson, requested Nixon's guidance on the issue in April.

Nixon's interpretation is that the actual rate levied is the one that applies.

"It would not be appropriate to choose the previously shared common rate -- the rate approved by voters several years ago -- because doing so would mean an increase in the rate above the tax rate ceiling for voters in any of the districts that had experienced downward adjustments in that rate," Nixon wrote.

Nixon said consolidation could proceed if the districts sought and received voter approval to establish uniform rates. Howland said Riverside has no plans to put the issue on the ballot.

She said the library districts that constitute Riverside have jointly operated under contractual agreements since their inception. Riverside's 15-member board consists of five members from each county.

Consolidation would solidify that relationship and thwart any future attempt to end the existing arrangement.

While other regional library systems have fractured in the past, Howland said that has never been an issue at Riverside.

"We are fortunate because we've been together since 1955."

mpowers@semissourian.com

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