Libraries are among the last remaining third spaces where patrons are not expected to spend any money, and many are funded entirely through property taxes, including the Basalt Regional Library.
To stay fully staffed and maintain the building, the Basalt Regional Library District is asking voters to extend an existing property tax permanently.
At 1.08 mills, the tax would yield $782,000 annually based on 2025 property values across its tax bases in Eagle and Pitkin counties. On individual tax bills, it amounts to $67.50 for every $1 million in property value.
However, initial budget projections for 2026 indicate that the library does not plan to collect the full amount right away. Instead, staff would use as much of the mill levy as needed, with 1.08 mills their ceiling instead of a baseline.
Voters first approved the second mill levy in 2006 to fund the land purchase and construction of the library’s current location at 14 Midland Avenue. The $7.2 million building was completed in 2010 and the library paid off the last of its debt on the project in September.
A seven-year supplemental mill levy yieled $350,000 annually between 2017-2023 for the library, approved by voters in 2016. The library’s board of trustees chose to let that mill levy sunset, instead of going back to voters for a renewal, due to the magnitude of the increase to property valuations, according to board documents.
The library is also supported by a separate mill levy of 2.61 mills that goes back decades. It brought in $1.89 million for the library’s 2025 budget.
Amy Shipley, the library’s executive director, said extending the 1.08 mill levy is about long-term planning for economic swings, meeting staffing needs and maintaining their building.
“We want the library to operate forever,” Shipley said “The 2.61 mills isn't going to be enough into the future to sustain the library that our community expects.”
Staff recruitment and retention has been a struggle for the library, Shipley said. With 17 full-time positions and three part-time positions, the library is short five staff members.
If the ballot question passes, Shipley said the library’s first move would be to raise staff salaries and begin bolstering their capital fund. Without it, the library would have to consider cutting staff, programming and hours to afford building repairs as they arise.
For Basalt students who visit the library on early-release Wednesdays, the library offers programs for kids and teens. And for everyone else, the calendar lineup includes story times, book clubs, swap meets, music and arts programming and more.
“We're a space to convene difficult conversations, fun conversations, entertaining conversations and … just be in a safe place where [patrons] don't have to buy anything,” Shipley said.
In its 2025-2028 Strategic Plan, the library identified multiple goals, including: increasing program attendance, the creation of a “makerspace” for creative projects, developing a staff benefits package, developing new programming like game nights and potlucks, considering extending their open hours and more.
“What other library can you come to in the middle of the summer and hear opera?” said Elane Nagey, a library board trustee. “The community room, when it has a music program, is absolutely amazing … That's not the library I grew up with.”
Shipley said that, according to internal tracking data, patrons are checking out more books, and staff are trying to bolster programming. However, library staff say they won't be able to add more events and programs to their calendar without additional funding.
The library spent about $600,000 on a roof replacement and solar panel relocation project in 2024, just 14 years into the previous roof’s life. Faulty materials and a voided warranty forced the library to replace it. The library transferred money from its general fund to afford the project, but Shipley’s now focused on building back a capital fund reserve to cover asphalt repairs, window replacements and repainting projects.
The library has a separate 501(c)(3) funding entity, but Shipley said as a public-serving facility, the library prefers to get its funding from the public and avoid a situation in which they could be beholden to a funder or group of funders.
“Since we're tax-funded, our values are squarely on serving everyone in our community, and that's so important to us that we don't want to be pulled in any other direction,” she said. “The fundraising we do is what we're doing right now: going on the ballot to ask voters to allow us to retain this funding.”
Voters can review budget scenarios for 2026 in which the ballot measure does or does not pass, available on the library’s website.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4. Ballots will be mailed to registered voters throughout Colorado starting on Oct. 10. Check your voter registration at coloradosos.gov.
