Medina voters may consider leaving costly library system

Henry Paulman was sick of it. The retired Boeing salesman isn't anti-library, per se, but he didn't appreciate the $930 tax bill paid by the owner of an average-priced home in Medina each year to remain a member of the King County Library System.

So last spring he fired off an e-mail to the Medina City Council, and some council members agreed the tax bill might be too high. The council is expected to decide Monday night whether to put a measure on the November ballot that would let the city's residents vote to stay in the library system or not.

The issue raises questions about whether the library's method of taxing all its customers by their assessed property value delivers fair returns to every city. Medina, the second-richest city in the state, has scores of multimillion-dollar homes, and its residents pay considerably more for library service than the average King County homeowner.

Supporters of the proposed ballot measure say the high price tag doesn't add up.

"You can buy a lot of books for a thousand dollars," said Councilman Drew Blazey.

Other council members and residents say the library system is too good and too valuable to leave behind. The city has received three dozen e-mails or letters on the topic, and all but two supported staying in the library system.

Judy Hanson and her husband have lived in their home for 32 years and watched megamansions rise up around them and their property taxes skyrocket. The price tag for the library is high, she said Thursday, and it may be more than her occasional library use is worth.

Medina meeting

A ballot measure? The Medina City Council is expected to vote on the King County Library System ballot issue at its meeting Monday at 7 p.m. in City Hall, 501 Evergreen Point Road.

But libraries are critical for communities, especially children, Hanson said. She would not support leaving. "I just think everybody needs a library," she said.

The King County Library System is the second-busiest in the nation, with 43 libraries from Bothell to Auburn. The downtown Bellevue library, closest to Medina, is considered one of the best-designed regional libraries in the country and is regularly packed with users for everything from browsing magazines and the Internet to appearances by authors and community meetings.

Hunts Point and Yarrow Point, two small, wealthy cities next to Medina, are the only cities that decided not to join the library system because the taxes were too high. Seattle, Renton and Enumclaw are not part of the system; they have their own libraries.

The owner of an average-priced home in Medina pays about $930 a year to the library system, according to the King County Assessor and library officials. But City Manager Doug Schulze said the median price of a home — about $1.1 million — offers a more accurate measure because the average price is skewed by the city's megamansions, which are worth tens of millions of dollars.

The owner of a median-priced home in Medina pays about $530 a year to the library system. By comparison, the owner of a median-priced single-family home in King County — $428,000 — would pay about $230.

Even if Medina voters decide to opt out, they would still pay some money into the system. The city was part of the system when voters approved a capital-improvement bond in 2004, and the money for that bond is guaranteed.

A median homeowner in Medina will pay about $32 a year for the bond, regardless of whether the city opts out of the system, according to library officials.

Library System Director Bill Ptacek said the libraries have won national awards and are integral to people's lives as community gathering spots and centers for learning. "This is the finest library system they could have access to," he said.

Medina provides about $1 million of the system's $80 million operating budget, and the library board could adjust the tax rate slightly to make up the difference if Medina were to opt out, Ptacek said.

Ptacek points out that the city's support for the library system is well-established. The city voted 70 percent for the 2004 bond, and 2,007 of the city's 2,900 residents have library cards.

Still, Paulman thinks a ballot measure this fall is necessary to gauge the city's affection.

It's "an opportunity the public seldom gets," Paulman said. "This will be a privilege for them, deciding whether they want to stay or not."

Ashley Bach: 206-464-2567 or abach@seattletimes.com