City officials ask Levy Court to reconsider Brecknock site

Local municipal officials have fired another salvo in the ongoing battle between Dover and Kent County Levy Court over plans to relocate the county library.

At a city council meeting Oct. 26 Dover City Manager Anthony DePrima presented a letter urging Levy Court to abandon its plan to buy land for a new library near Brecknock Park. The letter was sent to Levy Court earlier in the day and signed by DePrima, Smyrna Town Manager David Hugg and Harrington City Manager John Schatzschneider.

If the county chooses the park site, just a few hundred yards from the Dover line, the new library’s state-defined service area would overlap with the city library, DePrima explained.

This overlap, he said, could jeopardize state matching funds for both libraries, which are allocated according to a statewide master plan that mandates even distribution of library services.

If the county goes with the Brecknock location, it not only risks limiting its own access to state money, but it could handicap Dover’s funding stream as well, DePrima told the council.

“We are opposed to locations that further overlap existing library service areas, causing a duplication of library services and unnecessary competition for desperately needed resources,” the letter read.

Instead, the city managers recommended Levy Court go with a site near Longacre Village on Route 13 south of Camden, one of the alternate locations the county considered for a new library.

This site lies well outside the area served by the Dover and Harrington libraries and would not create a conflict over state funding.

“While the Brecknock site will have some benefits from being near the park; park users and library users are two distinct groups,” the letter continued. “What library users care about is found inside the library.”

The letter also said the city managers intend to present a formal plan for a workable library system that maximizes geographic service areas and reduces overlap to Levy Court next month.

Several council members voiced their displeasure with county officials over the library conflict, which began in May when Levy Court voted down a proposal to help fund a new Dover library that would serve as a regional anchor.

That vote forced the city to reevaluate the design and fundraising efforts for its new library, which is supposed to be built next to city hall.

The council grew angrier when, in the last month, Levy Court began discussing plans to build a new county library.

“It seems we have an insurmountable problem with the Levy Court,” said Councilman Reuben Salters.

Councilman Eugene Ruane, who has been particularly vocal about the issue, said this is an opportunity for the city to revive debate over a local service function budget. This statutory measure would prevent the county from taxing city residents to pay for services provided exclusively outside of the municipality, such as electricity, water and sewer, parks and recreation and library services.

In New Castle County, where such a system has been in place since the 1960s, the county executive makes a separate budget for county services rendered exclusively outside of municipalities. This budget cannot be funded by tax revenues raised from residents of those municipalities, which ensures those citizens do not pay for services they cannot access.

Ruane said that a local service function budget has been discussed in Kent County for decades, but nothing has ever materialized. In 1999 the idea worked its way to a state Senate committee in the form of legislation, but perished as a result of the desk drawer veto.

“Kent County is assessing and collecting property taxes from Dover and the other municipalities,” Ruane said. “They’re collecting taxes for services we’re providing and they’re not making a good investment of our money.”

Ruane told the council he would be investigating how much money a local service function budget would save city residents on their taxes and discussing the plan with state elected officials.