City shouldn't put library expansion on the shelf

Suck it up

On the Other Hand, by Scott Christiansen

The Wasilla city council's rejection of the library move plan wasn't so much disgraceful as it was predictable. Wasilla's library does have problems. The problems are related to funding, but it's not a situation in which the Valley lacks a sufficient tax base as Mr. Milne suggests. And it's certainly not some conspiracy between incompetent elected officials and an evil teachers' union.

If Milne had attended any public library discussions he would realize that the library issue has been studied by people who are both competent and sincere. They just haven't gotten past the issue of shared governance that any plan for a library in Wasilla -- or Palmer for that matter -- must face.

It is a sticky issue. The borough has a library property tax levy that currently can't be spent on facilities it doesn't own and that are inside city limits. Wasilla property owners don't pay that tax. The borough won't likely raise its current contribution of $322,000 per year to the library as long as borough elected officials watch the city of Wasilla collect most of its sales tax revenue from borough citizens who live outside the city. Who can blame them?

But borough officials are willing to talk the issue out and seek a solution.

This summer Mayor Sarah Palin's administration came up with a temporary solution that would have at least expanded the floor space and parking. The Wasilla council balked when it became clear the city would be committing itself to $1.8 million in additional library spending over the next four years, with no long-term solution in sight.

Personally, I think the council should suck it up, commit the money and then set to work on a long-term plan. But I don't have to answer to Wasilla's voters. I also frequent libraries and I live in a democracy where most citizens don't frequent libraries.

Palin's temporary fix and the discussion with borough manager John Duffy should have brought the shared governance issue into sharp focus for the council. Council members seem ready to talk the issue out. The job now isn't to lambaste elected officials and educators or to add new taxes. The job is to make sure those officials devote more time and attention to library issues than Milne has.

Scott Christiansen is a Frontiersman reporter.