âI am not going to give up until the very last gasp,â Selander said.
Since 2001, the City of Castle Rock has used a special excess levy to fund the whole of the libraryâs operational budget, including wages for two staff members and funding for janitorial services. It is typically set at a rate of 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, and it is ânot a new tax,â Selander said.
Voters in 2019 did not approve the tax for 2020, forcing the library to rely on its reserves and donations to stay open this year. The library levy failed again in 2020, leaving the library unfunded in 2021.