proposed Louisville library tax goes down in flames

From Dan Klepal in this AM's C-J...

No new taxes for new libraries. Jefferson County voters yesterday overwhelming rejected a proposed increase to the county occupational tax to pay for a massive expansion of the Louisville Free Library system.

The proposal was defeated 67 percent to 33 percent. Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson, who supported the tax increase, called the result "a thumping."...

Wow...quite a beating, especially given the details of the campaign (detailed below). Certainly, the editorialists at the C-J were crying into their proverbial beers last night. Their efforts were so aggressive that one wonders whether the campaign would have been successful if the C-J had laid low instead.

Tax opponents said they're convinced that voters support the library expansion, but without a tax increase that would have cost everyone who works or owns a business in Jefferson County an additional $2 on every $1,000 earned....

To pay for the plan, supporters proposed increasing the occupational tax by two-tenths of a percentage point on top of the 2.2 percent tax already paid by everyone who works or owns a business in Jefferson County.

The additional tax would have brought in about $40 million next year and grown from there. There was no plan to eliminate the tax later....

Ehhh...what's another tax, huh? One of the inequities was that those not living in Jefferson County and using the libraries would be forced to pay for them. Another interesting facet of the proposed tax is that it was "flat"-- usually, anathema to many of those who supported this particular tax.

A little more background on the victors and the alternative to the higher taxes plan...

Chris Thieneman, chairman of Support The Libraries, Not The Tax, spent four weeks campaigning against the proposal. But he said last night that he will work equally hard to make sure the expansion happens, using existing metro government revenue to pay for it.

Thieneman supports an alternative proposal written by Metro Council member Hal Heiner, R-19th District, who wants to pay for the expansion through a series of bonds and annual increases to the libraries' budget from the metro government's general fund....

About 40 people gathered in a victory party at Thieneman's office suite inside a self-storage warehouse complex on Fern Valley Road, behind a bowling alley. They ate pizza -- some drank cans of Budweiser -- and cheered as the results came in on television. Downtown, the pro-tax campaign held a party in the Frazier Museum, where people dined on a buffet.

What an interesting observation to include! Pizza and even some Budweiser! Then, I realized that the writer was setting the proverbial table for the comparisons to follow...

The differences between the two campaigns were as stark as the parties. Thieneman's group raised just over $20,000, while the pro-tax group had nearly $400,000 to spend.

The anti-tax group produced just one television commercial, using old video of Abramson promising new libraries without new taxes. The pro-tax group produced several commercials, the last with such local luminaries as basketball icons Denny Crum and Rick Pitino, along with activist Christopher 2X and Humana founder David Jones Sr.

Very interesting. The potential good news: apparently, the 1/3 of voters who supported this were from all walks of life. As such, they could voluntarily impose a .6% increase in the occupational tax on themselves and pay for it. We know they were willing to pay .2%-- and to stick everyone else with that tax. Perhaps they'd be willing to pony up and pay .6% more as well?

Abramson said he certainly got the message from voters. "When you have as much of a thumping as occurred in this election, you can't point to any one thing. I mean this community, in their turnout vote today, made it very clear that they're not interested in paying additional funds for expanding libraries. End of argument."

With these sorts of things, a resounding defeat is not always "end of argument". Often, they're resurrected ASAP in slightly different form. We'll see how this plays out...