A property tax hike to support roughly $32 million in funding for the Denver Public Library will be on the ballot this November, after the City Council voted Monday to send the question to voters.

The increase – which shakes out to about $4.19 more per month for the average Denver homeowner – would support salaries, tech and infrastructure improvements, longer hours and programming for the city’s libraries, officials said Monday. It would also provide a dedicated funding stream and some insulation from any budgetary restraints the city’s general fund may face. 

After what council president Jamie Torres called a “love fest” of library support, the council voted 11 to 1 to send the property tax increase to the voters.

The sole “no” vote, Christoper Herndon, stressed that he supports libraries and agrees they needed more money. But he said he believes the money could be found in the city’s broader budget, rather than via a tax increase.

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Council member Amanda Sawyer agreed that the council could probably find $32 million in its budget to support the library. She said what happens beyond this budget cycle is uncertain and and she wants the voters to decide whether to support a dedicated funding stream for the libraries going forward.

The council may not be able to find money in its general fund to support the library every year, she added.

“We’re going into a recession. All evidence indicates that, and what happens next year?” Sawyer said. “What happens the year after that? What happens when we have a new mayor, who may not have the same commitment to the library that the current administration has? This is a way of funding the library into perpetuity, of saying, ‘We recognize the value our library serves to our residents.'”

Library officials explained to council members last month how the money, if approved by voters, would be allocated. Of the roughly $32 million expected to be raised, $9.7 million would go toward improving staffing and, as a result, increase hours of operation. That money would also cut down on wait times, fund community outreach, and expand language access and programs for vulnerable populations, officials said. 

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New computers and technology for library visitors are expected to cost another $1.6 million. More than $15 million is needed for infrastructure purposes. The bulk of that – $13 million – is needed to address deferred maintenance, such as landscaping, painting, replacing flooring, accessibility improvements, officials said. Increasing salaries to meet market rate, improving training and hiring the equivalent of five support staffers will cost another $4.5 million, plus half a million more in software additions and upgrades, they said.

More than 4 million people walked through the doors of the Denver Public Library’s 26 locations last year, and library officials said last month that Denver’s system is underfunded compared to its peers elsewhere in the nation. The council gave its initial support for sending the tax increase to voters last week, and council member Jolon Clark asked then that a public hearing be held to gauge public support.

Library employees and supporters queued up to urge the council to support the ballot measure, praising the system as a key community resource, whether that be for children looking to rent books or job-seekers trying to use the internet. Ron Tomassi, who sits on the executive committee and board of the Denver Public Library Friends Foundation, called the library system one of Denver’s “greatest assets.” He described the current funding system as “inadequate and unstable.” 

Sonya Ulibarri, the vice chair of the city’s library commission, said the libraries ensure Denver remains a thriving city. She said the tax increase “can create a stronger, more stable library, a library better prepared to meet the needs of this dynamic and diverse city.”

After the public comment period ended, nearly every council member took turns lavishing praise upon the libraries, too. Several spoke fondly of childhoods spent in their hometown libraries. Jolon Clark noted how hard the system had been hit by the pandemic, and he called its programming and mission “critical, core services in our city.” Paul Kashmann said the libraries provides equity more than any other service in Denver, and Debbie Ortega told library staff that they are the “magnets of our neighborhoods.” 

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Council member Kevin Flynn urged library staff to expand the libraries’ hours of operation, should the tax increase be improved by voters, particularly in the evenings and on weekends. 

The council’s decision to send the question to voters comes after years of strategic planning by the city’s library system and its supporters. Last year, a 22-member task force met to discuss funding for a strategic roadmap, according to a press release by Strong Library Strong Denver, which supports the tax increase. The task force said the city’s libraries needed more investment and that “at least some of those additional dollars needed to come from a dedicated tax.”