Strickland’s proposal also changes the revenue source for the fund: Since 1985, the LLGSF has been based on a percentage of personal income taxes, and income-tax cuts in recent years have eroded its base, the Ohio Library Council explained. The new system would broaden the fund’s base to encompass all General Revenue taxes, including sales taxes, corporate franchise taxes, and public utility taxes. Where the fund previously consisted of 5.7% of the state’s income tax revenue, it will now be 2.2% of General Revenue taxes, and its name will change to the Local Libraries Fund (LLF) to emphasize its support of public libraries.
In recent years, as the state suffered an ongoing budget crisis, Ohio governors and legislators have called for cuts in or even elimination of the LLGSF.
“This is the first budget in five years that proposes any growth for public libraries,” observed OLC Director of Government and Legal Services Lynda Murray. “This growth is very modest, and I view this as the beginning of re-establishing a partnership with the state, not the final chapter.”
Posted on April 6, 2007.