Fayetteville Votes Yes on Library Expansion: Library property tax levy to increase to 3.7 mills

Photo Courtesy of Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle
A rendering of the proposed plans for the Fayetteville Public Library expansion shows what the completed project would look like from the south. The buildings south of the main building will expand into where the old City Hospital building is, south of Rock Street.

Fayetteville is getting a bigger library, everyone.

Fayetteville voters approved a millage increase Tuesday that will help fund a proposed expansion of $26.5 million needed for the Fayetteville Public Library.

According to the final, still unofficial results from the Washington County Election Commission, 3,615 voters or 58.6 percent, cast ballots to approve millage in question one to 1.5 mills — to fund the library’s maintenance/operations — and 2,549 voters or 41.3 percent voted against. For question two, 3,437, or 55.8 percent, were in favor to increase millage by 1.2 to pay for construction bonds, while 2,725, or 44.2 percent, were against.

With both questions of the referendum approved, the library’s prior 1-mill property tax levy will increase to 3.7 mills.

The millage rate is the amount per $1,000 used to calculate taxes on property. Millage rates are typically used in personal property taxes, where the expressed millage rate is multiplied by the total taxable value of the property to arrive at the property taxes due. One mill is equivalent to $1 in taxes per $1,000 taxable value.

The additional 2.7 mills will cost taxpayers an extra $54 per year for each assessed $100,000 of property owned, or $2.44 a week for the average Fayetteville homeowner.

About 12 percent of Fayetteville’s population turned out to vote in the special election. According to the results, 6,494 residents voted in the special election. Of those, about 1,700 people voted early and 200 returned absentee ballots.

By comparison, about 14,500 people voted in the Sept. 8 civil rights special election, with 4,100 ballots cast in the early voting period.

Bidding and documentation for the library expansion will begin in 2017 and construction on the expansion could start in 2018. The new facility is predicted to be open by 2021.

One of two expansion plans could take place. One idea is to expand south toward the closed City Hospital with 80,000 square feet — which is the preferred choice by the library’s administration and Board of Trustees — and the other is to expand on the library’s existing land.

However, there’s been a longstanding court dispute over the land the City Hospital sits on being sold to the library from Washington Regional Medical Center for $2 million from the heirs to the Stone family, who donated the land to the city a century ago. The decision for the sale depends on the Arkansas Supreme Court now, but a decision likely won’t happen until after the election.

If the court decides against the library’s favor, there are alternative plans for the library to move upward instead.