County approves Marigold levy rates

Justin Seward

Times Reporter

 

Marigold Library System has established their levy rates per capita for 2015 and 2016 and Wheatland County council approved the signing of the levy schedule-C.
“That was the approval of the fees for the next two years. The requisition was in order to operate libraries within the county,” said Alan Parkin, Wheatland County Chief Administration Officer. “A big share of their money comes from the province, they also get it from a local level as well.”
The municipalities are instrumental in how the libraries operate.
“The municipalities pay Marigold for the services that we do. We provide services that range from the acquisition of material to the payment of subscriptions, sub-contracts for resources that are online, the provision of delivery services, consultation and we also maintain a library computer system,” said Michelle Toombs, Marigold Library System chief executive officer. “The provincial government has provided us a levy rate system, so that library systems can provide these services to our municipalities and by doing so with others in a membership collaborative, we’re able to make cost savings purchases.”
Here are some of the highlights:
• The members will have to follow the per capita guidelines as follows, 2015 – $ 8.99 per capita and in 2016 – $9:39 per capita has to be paid to the Marigold Library System.
• The rural areas of the county would be paying this levy.
• In the second part includes those municipalities that have municipal library boards. The per capita in 2015 for those members would be $5.71 and $ 5.83 in 2016.
• Part 3 is devoted to those that have municipal boards, where in 2015 and 2016 a $4.50 per capita will be paid to Marigold Library System directly.
• Strathmore would be paying the second and third levy.
Levies are very critical in the operation of libraries because a majority of its revenue comes from the tax.
“60 per cent of our revenue comes from municipal levies,” said Toombs. “If we didn’t have that, we wouldn’t be in operation and the smaller libraries in Wheatland County would have to close because they couldn’t afford the start up costs or the continuing costs to maintain the services that we provide to them.”
Parkin added that when the proposal for the levy rates came out in June, the rates had stayed the same from the previous contract.