Southwest Greensburg voters will get to decide in November whether they want the revenue generated by 1 mill of property tax revenue — about $15,400 — to continue to be allocated to the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library, or be returned to the borough’s general fund.
Borough Council on Wednesday unanimously approved an ordinance that places on the November ballot the question of whether voters want to continue allocating moneyto the library, as has been done since 2018.
Council President Jeff Tabita said the borough needs the money.
“We stopped funding the (Southwest Greensburg) Civic Society and recreation. You have to reevaluate where your finances are going,” Tabita said.
After the meeting, Tabita declined to say whether he believes voters will approve the referendum.
The borough levied a 25-mill tax rate on real estate this year.
With 851 residential properties, the borough’s average annual tax revenue from each residence is $337, said Camdon Porterfield, chief assessor for Westmoreland County. Each mill brings in about $13.50 annually.
Voters in Southwest Greensburg and Greensburg approved a referendum in November 2017 to dedicate 1 mill of property tax to the library beginning in 2018, but the proposal was rejected by voters in Hempfield, New Stanton, South Greensburg and Youngwood.
Councilman Ronald Holtzer, who oversees the council’s budget committee, said he believes that voters in 2017 thought the dedicated library tax would take effect only if voters in all of the municipalities approved the tax.
Since 2018, Southwest Greensburg has allocated about $75,000 to the library.
“The library has done pretty well over a three-year period. Southwest Greensburg needs the money more,” Holtzer said
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• Southwest Greensburg to consider referendum to pull library funding
From the perspective of Councilman Miles Webb III, “this is (residents’) money, going to a library that is pretty well off.”
With repairs needed to Southwest Greensburg’s public works garage, Webb said the borough is nearing a time when it will need to raise real estate taxes.
Tabita noted that the condition of the borough garage is a big concern, and even the $15,000 earmarked for the library would not cover the needed repairs.
Mayor Carol Palcic said she had spoken with Jamie Falo, library director, and she understood Southwest Greensburg’s financial situation. Falo would like to work with the borough in seeking funding for the library, Palcic said.
Patty Graff, a Southwest Greensburg resident and a library employee, said the library has suffered “a huge loss” when the Pennsylvania Department Revenue closed its tax office on the second floor of the building.
The voters, Graff said, “need honest information on both sides.”
But, Tabita said, unlike other municipalities involved in the vote, the borough did not do its “due diligence” in distributing information at the polls in November 2017 about the impact of the library.
