LAFAYETTE, La. — The Lafayette Parish Library Board met Monday, two days after parish voters rejected a 10-year property tax renewal 56-44, to discuss what happens if the measure goes back to the ballot in December and fails again. Director Danny Gillane told the board that the outcome would put the system in a position it cannot sustain.
“If you take 65% of our revenue away,” Gillane said, according to The Advocate, “we would have to shutter buildings, remove staff, curtail hours severely and, at that point in time, the question becomes which branches do we keep open.”
Gillane acknowledged he was reluctant to speak in those terms publicly, noting that some residents might interpret it as a threat rather than an operational reality.
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What the Failed Tax Actually Funds
The 3.12-mill property tax, first approved by Lafayette Parish voters in 2016 and raised slightly following a property reappraisal, was projected to generate just under $9 million per year over the next decade. According to KATC, those funds cover everything from staff salaries and building repairs to programming, new materials, and ongoing renovations at the North and South Regional branches…