LIBRARY DISTRICT BRIDLED; EXPANSION STALLED BY 26-YEAR-OLD LAW

Terry Risko, director of Cape Girardeau's Public Library, has launched an effort to repeal a 26-year-old state law that bars some residents from the city's library district.

Risko is attempting to garner support for legislation that would rescind state regulations prohibiting cities from expanding library districts beyond their 1965 boundaries. The legislation will be introduced by state Rep. Mary Kasten of Cape Girardeau.

The library director said the law prevents the library from collecting tax revenue from residents annexed into the city since 1965. Those residents now pay taxes to Riverside Regional Library at Jackson.

"It's a dumb law," Risko said. "Right now there are people in Cape Girardeau who are actually supporting the regional library, not the city library. Hopefully, we're going to try to get our ducks in a row and get support for this."

The Cape Girardeau City Council Monday approved a resolution in support of a measure to revoke the state law.

Sally Pierce, director of the Jackson Public Library, said she plans to seek similar support from the Jackson Board of Alderman.

"We're in favor of a compromise of some type so that it wouldn't adversely affect the county library that much but would help us more," Pierce said.

Risko and Pierce said the additional tax revenue from city residents who live outside the 1965 city limits of Cape Girardeau and Jackson would help the libraries meet rising administration and book costs.

"Right now it looks like we'd get about $17,000 worth," said Pierce. "That would certainly help our budget because the cost of books is rising and so are salaries."

Pierce said most of the potential population growth in Jackson likely will come from newly-annexed areas. But she said those people would send their tax dollars to the Riverside Regional Library, not the city library.

Risko said Cape Girardeau's library could receive another $7,500 annually in tax receipts.

Harold Klaus, president of the Riverside Regional Library Board, said he thinks Risko's proposal "stinks." The Riverside Regional Library serves several smaller communities in Perry, Scott and Cape Girardeau counties.

"The law was passed in 1965 in order to keep the regional libraries and county libraries in operation," Klaus said.

Klaus said that the law protected residents who didn't want to be annexed from being forced to pay new city library taxes even though library service was available in the county.

"Up until a few years ago, people didn't have any say in whether they were going to be taken in or not," he said. "And all this time cities have received this money from the state that should have gone to county or regional libraries but went to cities instead."

Klaus said the state's appropriation for libraries is based on population counts that include residents in the city limits but outside the library district. He said he doubted members of Riverside's board, made up of five people each from Cape Girardeau, Scott and Perry counties, would support any type of cooperative agreement between the libraries.

"As far as I'm concerned, based on the past actions of the librarians in the city library of Cape Girardeau, and current action, they can forget about cooperation," Klaus said.

"I'm speaking only for myself, but I've kind of got the feeling for the rest of the board too."

Risko said cooperation between the library boards would better serve everyone.

"Jackson would become stronger and the regional library would still be able to serve the county residents," he said.

Risko said the Cape Girardeau library waives non-resident library fees for residents who live outside the library district boundaries. He said the library also allows non-residents who work in Cape Girardeau to obtain library cards. Non-residents who do not work in Cape Girardeau pay a fee to use the city library.

Risko said if the boundary law is repealed the benefit would be two-fold: an immediate flux of funds into the current budget and the opportunity for the library to grow with the city.

"Right away, based on assessed valuation, it would mean about $7,500," he said. "If we don't get this thing rescinded we're going to have to look at alternative ways to supplement our funding, maybe through the city's general revenue fund."

Risko said the law effectively prevents any growth in the library's funding base because most city growth now is in areas annexed after 1965. He said the state appropriations, based on total population, make up only about 4 percent of the library's budget.

"What you actually have is a facility that sort of belongs to the city, but the law makes second-class citizens out of people who can't use the facility," Risko said. "I believe that's a violation of the equal access provisions of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution."

The Public Library Board of Trustees recently drafted a position statement that supports Risko's claim. The statement says, in part:

"This statute virtually creates two classes of citizens; one who supports and can use the municipal library and a second-class citizen who is restricted from using this library and who is taxed by a regional library in another city.

"The fundamental right of equal access guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution for all those in a given political subdivision is restricted by this statute."

The statement asks that the state law be rescinded, which would lead to "strong municipal libraries that can eventually join together in cooperative service areas for the good of all area residents either urban or rural."

Risko said he can conceive of Cape Girardeau and Jackson public libraries pooling their resources in a reciprocal borrowing agreement that would allow both libraries to freely exchange materials. But he said the law must be changed before the funding base would be available to support such cooperation.

Risko said many large metropolitan areas in the state have strong regional libraries that are opposed to the effort. The Missouri Library Association also is against rescinding the law, he said.

Also, the law previously was challenged unsuccessfully in court in Cole County.

Risko said that by bringing the issue to the attention of Missouri lawmakers he hopes to at least persuade the Riverside Regional officials to consider some type of cooperation.

"If the whole thing is rescinded, it would be a financial loss for the regional libraries, but they would have to cooperate then and say, `Let's sit down and talk with these other libraries and work out some kind of agreement.' It would force them to say, `Let's talk about it.'"