MCPL Board Defies Voters, Slashes Budget by Millions

*A photo of our very own MCPL Excelsior Springs Branch (photo Courtney Cole).*

On Tuesday, September 20, 2022, The Mid-Continent Library’s Board of Trustees voted 8-3 to decrease the library’s property tax levy by 2.28 cents to 32.4 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. They then voted 7-4 to reduce the library’s operating budget by $1.31 million for the current fiscal year to account for the revenue loss that they had just imposed on themselves. The levy reduction will create an approximately $4 Million reduction in revenue annually for operations for the MCPL system moving forward.

According to the MCPL website, Mid-Continent Public Library is governed by a twelve-member Board of Trustees. By Missouri Statute, each county in the library district may appoint four representatives to the Board. The Clay County Commission, Platte County Commission, and the Jackson County Executive make these appointments annually.

These actions by the MCPL Board of Trustees go in direct opposition to the will of the voters of Jackson, Clay, and Platte counties which make up the service area of Mid-Continent Public Library. In 2016 voters approved Prop L, an increase to the tax levy from 32 cents to 40 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, by a nearly 2-1 margin.

The move adds to an already strenuous relationship between the Board of Trustees and the MCPL administration. At board meetings, some patrons and board members have stated that board members are using the library as a political football and are motivated by retribution for a failed attempt by the Platte County Commission to remove the levy from the 2016 ballot. The effort to remove the ballot measure ultimately failed when Platte County Judge Thomas Fincham ruled that county voters should have the option to vote on the proposed tax levy increase.

A story published by The Platte County Citizen in June said that some patrons attending meetings were also calling out perceived anti-LGBT, anti-semitic, and other extremist language used by some trustees. “This is a platform, an agenda by our Platte County trustees and it needs to be fought,” said Mark Kover, a resident of Kansas City North in Platte County.

MCPL Board of Trustee Meeting from Sept. 20 when cuts were made. View MCPL Board of Trustee Meetings on the MCPL YouTube Channel

MCPL Excelsior Springs Branch Manager Stephen Chalmers said that he expects the impacts of the budget cuts will initially affect services to patrons and the availability of materials and could ultimately lead to job attrition. Chalmers said, “I have seen already small cuts, to things like my hourly budget, that I pay my part-time employees. And this is where we get into the nitty gritty of like, what’s going to be the effects for this branch and how that could potentially affect customers.” Chalmers said he doesn’t expect the MCPL system to abstain from ordering any particular books but they may order fewer copies of popular titles, thus increasing the wait time for patrons. Chalmers also said that he isn’t aware of any impending layoffs due to the budget cut. “What you might see, however, is, if someone resigns and moves on to another position, or retires, or whatever we may just not fill that position right away, and over time we could lose those positions.

This is a complex issue and has the potential to impact hundreds of thousands in the KC Metro Area, including Excelsior Springs. We encourage you to seek out additional information and resources, perhaps using your local library.

Contact the MCPL Board of Trustees directly at board@mymcpl.org, at (816)521-7213, or send written correspondence to:

Board of Trustees
Mid-Continent Public Library
15616 E. US Hwy 24
Independence, MO 64050