Voters Choose To Create Tax To Help Sustain Carnegie Library
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Voters overwhelmingly approved a property tax increase to benefit the Carnegie Library System in Tuesday's election.
The referendum passed with a staggering 71 percent of the vote.
Starting next year, the property tax increase will go into effect to help fund the Carnegie Library System.
The library started initiatives over the summer to raise awareness about the need for financial assistance.
Through their efforts, they received 11,000 signatures to get the tax increase referendum on the ballot.
For those in the city, it will equate to about $25 a year or $2 a month on a property assessed at $100,000.
City Councilman Patrrick Dowd, the co-chair of the library's Joint-Committee on Sustainable Funding, said it is a great victory and shows that there is a demand and a desire for libraries.
"We had hundreds of volunteers. This goes back into the spring and the early summer when we had hundreds of people out circulating petitions. We had almost 11,000 people sign to get this question on the ballot. I don't know what the exact vote totals are at this point, but there are probably tens of thousands of people that voted 'yes,'" Dowd said.
The property tax increase is expected to bring in about $3 million dollars for the library system.
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