Jasper Library decides to seek 15-year bond on referendum

The Jasper Public Library Board now has enough information to proceed with the referendum this November.

The board approved seeking a 15-year bond for up to $6.5 million to build a new library at the former site of the Hoosier Desk building. Detailed plans on the construction of the library have not been revealed.

The board decided unanimously to seek the 15-year bond due to the lower cost per month on property taxes. The referendum will only impact taxpayers in the Jasper city limits, Bainbridge Township, Madison-Jasper Township and Madison-Boone Township.

The average cost of a home in the area is about $132,000 and the 15-year $6.5 million bond would add an additional $2.69 a month to the property taxes paid on a home around that value.

A 10-year bond would add $3.56 a month to a house of that value while a 19-year bond would cost an additional $2.36 a month.

Compared to a 10-year bond, the 15-year bond would cost about a million dollars more in interest over its life with a conservative estimate on the rate of the bond. However, the board also felt they could potentially pay off the bond early to cut the amount they would end up paying in interest.

More details on the tax rates can be found here.

The board has to submit the language that will appear on the referendum to the Department of Local Government and Finance for final approval.

The board plans on fundraising to help pay for the new library. Their goal is about $2 million and according to Board President Dean Vonderheide, $2 million is very achievable. He admitted the board is in talks with a single large donor interested in making a significant investment in the project but he declined to name the donor.

The board also touched on the many misconceptions the public has about the current library’s activity. In response to the questions being fielded by board members and staff at the library, a page is being prepared on the library’s website that will answer those questions and provide a contact form for users to submit questions. It will also feature a rate calculator taxpayers can use to determine the impact of the new library on their property taxes.

A few notes on the referendum:

The referendum has to include the total cost of what the library wants to bond even if that will not be the full bond amount. With the board seeking to raise $2 million in donations, the bond amount could be less and therefore the impact on property taxes less.

The numbers in the study completed by Umbaugh Associates are considered the worst case scenarios. The bond amount is maxed out and the interest rate paid on the bond is padded with an additional one percent.

Also, as the assessed value of the areas impacted by the bond increases, the impact of the bond on property taxes decreases.