City, library officials, lawyers meet over millage

Officials and legal counsel from the city of Birmingham and the Birmingham Baldwin Public Library are expected to meet on Thursday, April 17, in an effort to resolve a long-standing disagreement over whether the city has any control over millage rates levied to support library operations or whether the library board can be convinced to lower its millage rate to help underwrite a proposed community and senior service center.

Downtown Newsmagazine has been told that city manager Jana Ecker and city attorney Mary Kucharek will meet with library director Rebekah Craft and the library’s legal counsel, Ann M. Seurynck, an attorney with the Foster Swift Collins & Smith law firm

The meeting was prompted by a proposal from the city manger in recent weeks to possibly have the library millage rate returned to the 1.1-mill level that existed prior to the construction in recent years of $9 million in improvements made to the library building, which is owned by the city. The library millage rate was increased to fund the building projects. The millage rate reduction would take effect for the 2026-2027 budget year.

The city manager, at the Monday, March 24, city commission meeting made the library millage reduction proposal, which got mixed reviews. Ecker suggested that the library millage be reduced and the last year of the voter-approved special millage for the library not be collected. The end result would mean that taxpayers would basically not see an increase in taxes to fund the 20-25 year bond proposal for the new community senior center that will either appear on the August or November ballot this year.

The proposed new building at 400 E. Lincoln would house the Next senior services group, the YMCA which sold the building to the city and would also be open as a community center.

Baldwin Public Library Director Rebekah Craft told commissioners at the meeting that the proposal was pitting the library against the Next group. Further, Craft said the library is improperly being treated as a department of the city but it was established as a PA164 Library, giving them specific authority, including setting the millage rate. Craft and several library board members emphasized that cutting the library’s funding is not legal under state law and would be detrimental to the library’s operations.

In correspondence to the city, Craft also recounted how in the past the city had dictated the library millage amount but that was illegal under state law. The library’s attorney also supplied a letter to the city detailing the state law under which the library was formed, which provides autonomous control of library funds.

Although some officials have said that the city charter is the controlling document relative to the library, even that document says “It shall be the duty of the (library) board of directors to prepare an estimate of the amount of money necessary for the support and maintenance of such library for the ensuing fiscal year, which estimate shall not exceed one and three-quarters (1¾) mills on the dollar of the taxable property of the city and to report such estimate prior to April 1 of each year to the city commission for assessment and collection as provided by law.” The city charter also provides that the library board “shall have the exclusive control of the expenditure of all moneys deposited to the credit of the library fund.” However, past city attorneys have issued opinions saying that the city commission has the power to set the library millage.

The city commission took no formal action on the millage reduction proposal but asked for city officials to meet with library officials to see if an agreement could be negotiated.