Ad Hoc committee looks at library millage

Published 6:00 am Thursday, February 21, 2019

The Iberia Parish Council’s Ad Hoc Millage Committee met Wednesday night to scour the budget of the Iberia Parish Library and the millage that feeds revenue to its operation.

The library operation millage can be rolled up as high as 6 mills, but is currently assessed at 3.5 mills. But the discussion Wednesday night focused more on how the library spends its funds than where the millage should be set.

“We need to look at what we need to move our libraries forward,” said District 2 Councilman Michael Landry. “We need more computers, and more digital resources. When I look at the budget and see expenditures for more books and DVDs, I think it is the wrong direction.”

The discussion also touched on two new libraries under construction in Coteau and Loreauville and whether those facilities adequately address the needs of the parish.

“We need to start meeting the needs of our customers,” District 6 Councilwoman Natalie Broussard said.

Landry said Lafayette Parish, with a much higher population, has nine libraries. Iberia Parish has seven.

“When you look at the numbers, 81 percent of our residents have library cards,” Landry said. “That’s 59,000 people. But it does us no good if everyone is still using the Main Branch and not any of the others.” 

One topic centered on a 2016 survey from Library Systems and Services, which showed that circulation dropped 15 percent and per capita visits dropped 20 percent between 2011 and 2015, while costs rose 12 percent. The study ranked the Iberia Parish Library 18th out of 21 Louisiana libraries with similar budgets.

“But (Library Director Kathy Miles) said they didn’t report the numbers accurately,” said District 9 Councilman Joel Dugas. “I’ll bet you see those numbers come way down in the next survey.”

Broussard said that the library operation millage is one of the top three the parish currently collects.

“Even at 3.5 mills, it is the third-highest millage we have,” she said. “We need to look at the priorities. Is this a top three?”

Landry said that a realignment of millages would be welcome, but the voter temperament would likely leave any attempt to raise millages wanting.

“People have to realize we have the fifth-lowest millages in the state,” Landry said. “It’s time citizens paid attention to where we are at.”

Committee member Patrick Broussard said that the library millage that passed before the oilfield crash in 2015 might not pass muster in the current economic environment.

“The millage was passed in 2014,” Broussard said. “Back then, we were still riding the wave of oil revenues.”

Committee Chairman Armond Schwing said that the reality facing the parish is that a return to the voters to reallocate millages in a more logical fashion for the current economy may have to be attempted in order to balance future budgets.

“I’m not trying to paint a bleak picture, but these issues have to be addressed,” Schwing said. 

Iberia Parish Council Chairman Paul G. Landry agreed with Schwing and pointed out that even with millages as they are the economic downturn is reducing revenues.

“When he spoke to us, (Assessor) Rickey Huval said property values in Iberia Parish had dropped by $25 million in the period between the last assessment years,” he said. 

The last reappraisal year was 2016. The next is in 2020.