COLUSA, CA (MPG) – Colusa County voters will decide this November whether to approve an $85 annual parcel tax to provide dedicated funding for the county library. The Board of Supervisors unanimously voted Tuesday, Aug. 4, to place a citizen initiative on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Supervisors also took no action on a separate county-sponsored parcel tax proposal, leaving the citizen initiative as the only library funding measure before voters.
If the citizen initiative is approved, the Colusa County Library Preservation Act would establish an $85 annual parcel tax on taxable properties, with annual adjustments of up to 3% based on inflation. County staff estimates the measure would generate about $850,000 each year after exemptions while requiring the county to continue contributing at least 75% of its fiscal year 2025-26 General Fund support for library operations unless the board declares a fiscal emergency.
The initiative received 617 valid petition signatures, exceeding the 562 required under state law according to the Colusa County Clerk-Recorder’s office. Petition organizers submitted 1,032 signatures. While several speakers referenced collecting more than 1,000 signatures during the petition drive, signing the initiative petition qualified the measure for the ballot and did not constitute a vote for or against the proposed tax.
Supporters said the measure strikes a balance between providing stable funding for the library while keeping the tax lower than the county’s earlier proposal.
“We respectfully request that the Board of Supervisors order submission of our ordinance without alteration to the voters,” initiative co-proponent Erin Steidlmayer said.
Steidlmayer said organizers reduced the proposed tax after hearing concerns that the county’s earlier proposal was too expensive.
“Following that June 30 board meeting, we reduced the amount to $85 per parcel simply to ensure our ordinance is more likely to be approved,” she said.
She said the initiative’s requirement that the county maintain at least 75% of its current library funding would ensure voters the county remains financially committed to library services.
“The county needs to promise to fund the library as well,” Steidlmayer said. “Otherwise, we’d be asking the voter to fund a $850,000 library budget.”
Other residents supported placing the measure before voters, arguing the library has faced years of financial uncertainty.
“I think the citizens’ initiative is really a great opportunity to put that question out to the community and let them make the decision,” Colusa resident, and former County CAO, Wendy Tyler said.
Others said their concerns centered less on the library than on how the measure would affect taxpayers and future county budgets.
Arbuckle resident Shannon Smith said she supports the county library but questioned whether a parcel tax fairly distributes the cost among property owners, particularly agricultural operations.
Smith said many farms consist of noncontiguous parcels, meaning some landowners may not qualify for the initiative’s contiguous parcel exemption.
“Not everyone is lucky to have all of their farms be touching,” Smith said. “They’re traveling for different corners of this region to try to make a livelihood out of farming.”
She also noted the measure includes annual cost-of-living adjustments of up to 3%, arguing the tax could grow substantially over time while agricultural producers continue facing rising operating costs.
“I support it, I want it to thrive, but I just don’t want it to thrive at the cost of having a boot on the neck of all the ag parcels farming,” Smith said.
Former school librarian Becky English said she supports funding the library but questioned whether voters fully understood the initiative’s maintenance of effort requirement, which would require the county to continue providing a minimum level of General Fund support.
“I could be in favor of the $85 … but I find it really hard to be in favor of a mandate that I feel ties the hands of our board,” English said.
English also questioned whether current library services justify the level of public investment being proposed.
She noted the Arbuckle branch is open about 10 hours each week, with most of those hours occurring while children are in school.
“I have seven grandchildren at Arbuckle,” English said. “Our library is open for 10 hours a week. Seven and a half of those hours, the kids are in school, so my grandchildren can use the library for only 2.5 hours.”
English encouraged county leaders to look at ways to improve access and evaluate how library services could better serve residents before committing to a long-term funding requirement.
“I think these are things we need to think about to better service our community,” she said.
Several supervisors expressed concerns about the initiative’s maintenance of effort provision while acknowledging the library has long been one of the county’s most vulnerable departments during budget discussions.
Former Colusa County Administrative Officer Wendy Tyler told the board the library has been scrutinized during budget deliberations for more than a decade because it is one of the county’s few discretionary services.
“The library budget has been on the chopping block during budget conversations the last ten years,” Tyler said. “Library services have already suffered. We have reduced hours. We have reduced staffing.”
Tyler said the guaranteed General Fund contribution included in the initiative would assure voters the county remains committed to supporting library services alongside the proposed parcel tax.
“I think the public needs assurance to know that the county with General Fund tax dollars will continue to provide some level of support for the Colusa County Library,” she said.
Supervisor Daurice Kalfsbeek-Smith agreed the library has remained a priority despite years of difficult budgets but said the county must continue balancing the needs of all General Fund departments.
“We have one pot of money, and I don’t want to prioritize the library over those other 13 general fund departments,” Kalfsbeek-Smith said. “Many of those include public safety.”
Kalfsbeek-Smith noted the county also faces aging roads, drinking water issues, wastewater infrastructure needs and other demands that compete for limited General Fund dollars.
“As we move forward with that and not having that flexibility is really tough for me,” she said.
Even so, Kalfsbeek-Smith said the decision should ultimately rest with voters. “I believe that we should move forward with the citizens’ initiative as the voters have spoken and bring it to the ballot.”
County Administrative Officer Josh Pack said supervisors had little discretion once the initiative qualified under state law. Their options were to order an additional Elections Code report, which staff said likely would delay the measure beyond the November election, or place it on the ballot.
“Our recommendation is to move forward with the citizens’ initiative and not to move forward with the county initiative,” Pack said.
The board voted 5-0 to accept the petition certification, declined to order the additional report, approved the resolution placing the measure on the Nov. 3 ballot and chose not to submit ballot arguments either for or against the proposal. Supervisors then took no action on the county’s companion measure, allowing that proposal to expire.
If approved by voters, revenue from the parcel tax could be used for library staffing, collections, technology, literacy programs, facility maintenance and other library operations. The measure also establishes an independent citizen’s oversight committee and requires annual financial reporting.
Colusa County voters will have the final say on the measure during the Nov. 3 General Election.