Evanston Public Library Seeks Property Tax Hike

The Evanston Public Library's proposed 2014 budget includes a property tax increase of roughly $528,883, according to city documents.

That increase would equate to a roughly 1.25 percent increase in the city's total property tax levy, which includes the library fund. The library originally sought a $750,125 property tax increase, but that was recently reduced, city documents show.

Library funding has not been a major topic of discussion in Evanston since 2011, when the library board voted to close down the 95-year-old South Branch due to insufficient funds. Two years later, the library reopened a branch in south Evanston, taking over operation of the Mighty Twig, a volunteer-run library founded after the South Branch closed.