Trego's Mountain Ear

The proposed library district has me looking at taxation again.  One of the great things about Lincoln County is that, with three high school districts, it’s easy to figure out which communities provide the funds that keep our county going.

	Market Value	Taxable Value	Percentage
Libby	$1,687,186,708	$21,911,499	36.42%
Troy	$831,354,553	$10,966,329	18.23%
Eureka	$1,974,407,031	$27,280,980	45.35%
County Total	$4,492,948,292	$60,158,808

The Census offers these population estimates from the American Community Survey (the ACS is not my preferred source, but we are 4 years past the census)

Zip Code	Population	City
59923	9,545	Libby
59917	5,001	Eureka
59935	3,505	Troy
59934	763	Trego
59930	697	Rexford
59918	625	Fortine
59933	21	Stryker

Since Eureka, Trego, Rexford, Fortine, and Stryker are all in High School District 13, the relative populations are:

Libby 9545 (47%)             Troy   3,505 (17%)             LCHS 7,107  (35%)           

Seeing that North County provides 45.35% of the county’s tax revenues, the first thought that comes to mind is that secession from Lincoln County would be a better option than voting for a county-wide library district.  County 57, with 45.35% of Lincoln County’s tax base, could afford to be a little less efficient and still provide better service.

A library that served just the LCHS high school district, looking at the tax base (45%) and population (35%), could provide north county residents with a heck of a lot better service than the pittance historically provided to Eureka does.

I like libraries – as an academic, I’ve spent a lot of time in them on one lit review or another.  Still, I don’t get much return on a library in Libby – and in the proposal for a countywide district, we’d cover nearly half the cost and probably get a sixth of the service.

I want a library – but I’m tired of being taxed to provide jobs and services for Libby.  If I get an opportunity to vote for a better library, closer . . . well, perhaps the first stage of secession is a special library district that isn’t countywide.