Kansas Library Laws

LIBRARY BUDGET. Letter, June 2, 1975, to Lowell F. Hahn, Secretary, City Library Board, Phillipsburg, Kansas.

Your letter of May 23 to Mr. Gross has been forwarded to us for consideration.

K.S.A. 1971 Supp. 79-1952 authorizes the governing body of a city of the second class to levy a tax for library purposes in the amount of 3.00 mills, with the proviso that "two mills of said levy shall be outside the aggregate levy limit prescribed by this section." The aggregate limit set forth thus:

"[T]he aggregate of all city-wide tax levies of such city, except levies for the payment of bonds and interest thereon, and levies for the control and eradication of noxious weeds, and levies authorized by other statutes to be outside the aggregate, is hereby limited to fourteen (14) mills on each dollar of assessed tangible valuation of such city." [Emphasis added.]

K.S.A. 12-1220 provides for the establishment of municipal libraries and states in part thus:

"If a majority of the votes cast at such election on such proposition shall be in the affirmative, the governing body shall forthwith establish such library an is hereby authorized to and shall annually levy a tax for the maintenance of such library in such sum as the library board shall determine within the limitation fixed by law." [Emphasis added.]

Your understanding is correct, that the city government body must levy a tax to fund the budget prepared by the library board, so far as the levy is within the limitations provided by K.S.A 79-1952.

You further inquire in what respect the proposed increases in the operating expenditures are affected by the aggregate levy and budget limitations. The applicability of the "lid" is set forth in K.S.A. 79-44-1:

"The provisions of this act shall apply to evey city, ounty, school district and community junior college district, which shall be referred to in this act as a taxing subdivision, and as used in this act and the act of which this act is amendatory, the term 'taxing subdivision' shall refer to no other unit for government or subdivision therof."

The library board is not itself a taxing subdivision, of course. It levies no taxes, but merely prepares a budget which is conclusive upon the governing body of the city, so long as the levy requires to fund it falls within the limits prescribed as set forth above. K.S.A. 1971 Supp. 79-4412 was amended by 1972 Senate bill No. 242, effective July 1, 1972, to provide thus:

"Whenever any taxing subdivision of this state shall be required by law to levy taxes for the financing of the budget of any political or governmental subdivision of this state which is not authorized by law to levy taxes on its own behalf, and the governing body of such taxing taxing subdivision is not authorized or empowered to modify or reduce said budget or amount of taxes levied therefor, the budget for operating expenses and tax levies of such political or governmental subdivision shall not be included inn or considered in computing the limitations upon the budget for operating expenses and the limitations upon property tax levies of the taxing subdivisions levying taxes for such political or governmental subdivision."

This provision, of course, must govern any budget adopted during the current year.