STE. GENEVIEVE – In 2017, Ste. Genevieve County Library was asked by community leaders to reduce its property tax levy from $0.10 cents to 4 ½ cents per $100. This decision, voted on that April, helped the community allocate funds to the opening of the Bloomsdale Community Center and River Rapids Waterpark, through an increased sales tax.
However, lowering the library tax rate below ten cents disqualified the library from state aid, a reality that is now impacting the library’s ability to grow.
Library Director Shawn Long explains, “Since 2020, we’ve seen multiple funding opportunities we can’t access because our levy doesn’t meet the state minimum for aid eligibility.”
Specifically, the library is currently ineligible for seven grants that could bring in up to $150,000 annually for essential services, including technology upgrades, Summer Reading programs, and author visit initiatives.
“The lack of state support has left us unable to fully explore grants and resources that would otherwise extend our budget and improve services for the entire county,” Long noted.
Currently, the library spends nearly $7,000 on services like courier logistics and the Missouri Evergreen system—costs that state aid would typically cover.
“For most libraries, state aid represents only 2–5% of their budgets, but that amount would make a huge difference for us. If we had this aid, these infrastructure costs wouldn’t have to come out of our funds, freeing up resources for books, technology, and new programs.” said Long.
Due to state rules requiring that libraries receiving state aid have a minimum funding level from their communities, Ste. Genevieve remains the largest library system without state support.
“Most libraries ineligible for aid serve populations of 500–1,000 people. By contrast, we serve more residents than seventeen of them combined,” Long added. Without an increase, Ste. Genevieve County will remain the largest library system in Missouri without access to these funds. With the April ballot approaching, Proposition L could help close this funding gap and unlock state support to expand library services.
“We’re hopeful the community sees the value in a strong library system. These grants would directly support our most critical programs, from technology to summer reading,” Long emphasized.
For more information on Prop L, visit www.sgclib.org/proposition-l or email Shawn at shawn.long@sgclib.org