LETTER: Community treasure

Published 1:30 am Saturday, April 18, 2026

Clallam County has a fabulous library system that serves every facet of our community, from new parents of babies to seniors.

It has more than 30,000 active cardholders and more than 300,000 books, audiobooks, music recordings, computers and other physical items as well as more than 60,000 digital items, all available for free to cardholders.

It has a hardworking, creative and gracious staff who make every taxpayer dollar or grant stretch as far as it can and treat every visitor with friendly, helpful respect.

It does all of the above with funding that comes mostly, 87 percent, from local property taxes and, due to the peculiar math regulating property taxes, it actually receives only a fraction more from the county this year than it did the last time a levy lid lift was requested in 2010.

Meanwhile, assessed property values have more than doubled.

Please vote for the requested levy lid lift, to 45 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.

Our libraries are a community treasure.

Marian Birch

Port Angeles