Spurred by the debate over the need for and the funding for the new Greenfield Public Library, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the nexus between the library and economic development. More specifically, I’ve been thinking about the nexus between raising our taxes and economic development. There are two ways to lower taxes: cut spending or expand the tax base.
I’m listening to the concerns about raising our taxes and as a Greenfield taxpayer I sympathize with those concerns. I also know that having a new, completely up-to-date and accessible library is an important linchpin in the future of Greenfield and its economic sustainability. This I strongly believe.
A report, Making Cities Stronger: Public Library Contributions to Local Economic Development, from Iowa, not known for its desire to raise taxes, states that “libraries are key to building an economic base.” It further states: “In this era of economic transformation, the business of public libraries is being recast. Public access to digital information and technology is a draw for libraries. Their open structure, combined with the power of new digital collections, technology, and media, position them to help communities make the transition from manufacturing and service economies to high tech and information economies.” The report concludes “…public libraries are positioned to fuel not only new, but next economies because of their roles in building technology skills, entrepreneurial activity, and vibrant, livable places. The combination of stronger roles in economic development strategies and their (libraries) prevalence make public libraries stable and powerful tools for cities seeking to attract and build new businesses.”
This emphasis on the connection between information technology and a library’s ability to build technology skills through access to that very online technology seems to fly in the face of those in our community who think a new library is not needed because there is now such a thing as the Internet.
An additional report entitled “Public Libraries and Community Development: Partnering for Success” from The Rural Research Report out of Illinois, also not known as Taxinois, adds to the importance of libraries in rural economic development. It states: “… economic development experts have moved away from traditional approaches to economic development that have relied upon recruiting or attracting large businesses with offers of tax breaks, financial incentives, and other subsidies. Increasingly, communities are focusing their economic development resources on supporting the growth of existing businesses and creating a nurturing and information-rich environment where new entrepreneurs can flourish.” After all, there’s a limited amount of money we can afford to lose from tax incentive to businesses in order to get them to locate here without having to make cuts to our valued municipal services and municipal employee staff and salaries.
More importantly, the report offers insight on the rural library’s role in encouraging an entrepreneurial approach to rural economic development: “Public libraries are natural partners in local economic development efforts. They are usually centrally located in a community and provide a variety of resources designed to foster human growth and development, promote early literacy and school readiness, and develop workforce capacity. Public libraries can positively impact local economic development efforts and produce mutually beneficial results for both libraries and the business community.”
Those Greenfield city councilors who claim they want to see Greenfield continue to grow into a vibrant, economically sustainable community and offer a stable, lower tax base should take heed when they take their vote on library funding. The funding formula for the new library is strong, has buy-in from the community and the state, and now needs the council’s support. Cutting spending as has happened in recent years from this council has not moved the needle on our tax rate. Now it’s time to support the one thing that can help lower our taxes with the library’s support: expansion of the tax base through economic development. Fund the new library. Watch it help make all of our lives better. It’s a win-win deal.
Roxann Wedegartner is a Greenfield resident and writer who has been active in the city’s municipal government for many years, including as a longtime member and chairwoman of its Planning Board, which has been deeply involved in the city’s economic development.