Tuscarawas County library levy seeks replacement funding to sustain services

Tuscarawas County Public Library System Director Michelle McMorrow Ramsell said a levy issue on the Nov. 4 ballot is critical to maintaining the library’s ongoing services.

The levy would replace a one-mill levy passed in 2014 and would generate an additional $436,000 per year for the library system.

“Just like with pretty much everybody,” Ramsell said, “we have experienced the effects of inflation and rising costs. Library materials cost more, computers cost more, internet connections cost more. The levy we are seeking a replacement on was passed 11 years ago, so the effective millage is collecting at 0.7 mills rather than a full one mill. We are also receiving less money from the state.”

Ramsell said there is no sign of library use by the public abating.

“The thing is, I am asked frequently, ‘Are people still using the library?’ And I can tell you that people are absolutely still using and relying on the library. Our demand, our usage, is up, but costs have increased and it has been 11 years since we have seen new dollars, and that’s very much needed now.”

More than three-quarters of a million materials were checked out of the five-branch library system in 2024, showing continued robust usage by the public. County library computers and Wi-Fi access on customer devices were utilized 70,653 times.

Additionally, 1,825 programs for kids, teens and adults were held, with more than 33,000 customers in attendance. Of those programs, 88 were tutoring sessions and 144 were technology classes.

“The library system is obviously very important to a lot of people here,” Ramsell said.

According to information at the main library website, tusclibrary.org, “replacement of the 1-mill levy will cost the taxpayer an additional $10.65 per year per $100,000 valuation. Such figures are certified and will not increase with future home valuations.”

The issue will appear on the ballots of residents within the Tuscarawas County Library legal service district, including libraries in Strasburg, Bolivar, Sugarcreek and Tuscarawas, covering about 60.3% of the county. Dover, Gnadenhutten and Newcomerstown all maintain independent libraries and are not included in the same legal service district.

“This levy would generate enough funding to allow us to keep up with inflation,” Ramsell said, “keep up with rising costs, continue to be able to provide the services customers have come to rely upon, and also help absorb some of the reduction we’ve seen in state funding.”

The state has cut about $25 million in funding to libraries across Ohio, endangering many of those libraries’ services. The levy dollars will go into the library’s general operating fund, which is used for materials, technology and services throughout the library’s service district.

“We are really not even thinking about expanding right now,” Ramsell said. “This is for maintaining the level of services our library customers need and expect. We have right now a 0.5-mill continuous levy that is 17 years old and then this one-mill continuous levy that is 11 years old. We started talking about what we needed to do more than a year ago. We really didn’t want to seek more than was needed, so we are seeking to replace the 11-year-old one-mill levy.”

Ramsell was hesitant to speculate on what might happen if the levy were to fail.

“If this doesn’t pass, I really think our board and our management team, we’re all going to need to sit down and talk about what our next steps might be,” she said.

More information is available by following the “Levy Facts” link at tusclibrary.org.