Kenilworth Revenue for Winnetka-Northfield and Wilmette Libraries Still in Limbo

The Kenilworth Service Library contract will not be addressed until next year, leaving in limbo a main source of revenue for the Winnetka-Northfield and Wilmette library districts.

No recommendation was made for the $100,100 contract at the last meeting of the Kenilworth Library Board, said David Seleb, executive director of the Winnetka-Northfield library district.

"We hope to continue the relationship," said Robert Sanflippo, president of the Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District Board of Trustees.

But even with the loss of the contract with Kenilworth, Sanflippo said the Winnetka-Northfield library district would still have enough revenue in its reserves to operate at its current level.

The brief comments about the Kenilworth contract came up Monday night during a special meeting of the board where it not only rescinded a tax levy it approved last month, but also approved a budget with no increases over this year's extension levy of $3.4 million.

 Residents have complained the increase would mean an additional $54 on a standard $20,000 property tax bill. The vote was also criticized because only five of the seven trustees attended the first meeting. With the 3-2 vote on Nov. 15 to approve the increase, the two absent trustees could have voted down, or affirmed, the measure.

"The process was sound," said board president Robert Sanflippo of last month's vote. "If I didn't agree with the outcome, I thought it should be honored. The process was open, transparent and proper."

However, Sanflippo said he worried that to call a special meeting to reconsider the vote might set a bad precedent by setting the stage for revisiting all future votes that receive public disapproval. In the end, however, he said the special meeting was justified because enacting a tax hike during a recession, without full board participation was "unsettling."

"Rescinding the levy would be a dangerous precedent," said Winnetka resident Sue
Connaughton during the public comment portion of the meeting. "You followed the process. Any Winnetka resident could have attended. To rescind sends a message that you can be pressured into revoting. That is a dangerous message."

In 2005, the community approved a tax rate increase referendum which allowed the library trustees to raise the tax rate above what is normally allowed: the consumer price index or 5 percent. The consumer price index was one-tenth of a percent last year, and this was the last year the library could take advantage of the referendum.

This year, it could have levied up to 18.75 percent higher than last year's extension,
but the board decided on 10 percent at the Nov. 15 meeting. Trustee John Jansson said the increase approved last month, which he voted for, was fair and justified. He noted the strong opposition to the increase and said he did not vote for it lightly because tough economic times were forcing his family to remove money from their son's medical school fund to pay their own taxes.

"Our reserves are healthy but still cause for concern," Jansson said. "We need to stop the drain on our reserves and deal with unexpected costs."

But Anthony Mars, a trustee who was absent last month, opposed the increase suggesting a reliance on tax increases showed a lack of imagination "in the age of Google."

"The timing is poor and taints the discussion," he said of the 10 percent increase. "We should be leaders in financial prudence and demonstrate we have wisdom to pull back in areas not deserving of some expenditures. We should be exploring alternative sources of revenue other than tax dollars."

One option was to cut the 10 percent increase in half to five percent but the trustees voted four to three against that alternative. Winnetka resident David Mulligan attended the meeting and opposed any tax increases. He said the approved budget showed "credibility by being financially prudent. We spend a lot of
time with our kids telling them they can't have everything they want; there are trade-offs. Cutting expenses is a good thing. It's the new normal."