Much of the discussion surrounding property tax reform has focused on schools, law enforcement and local government having to cut services due to reduced funding. But libraries are also in line to see impacts from Senate Enrolled Act 1 – legislation passed in April cutting property taxes.
Several Indiana librarians expressed uncertainty about the exact effects of SEA 1, a complicated law that impacts both property and income taxes.
“I wish I knew exactly what all this was going to mean,” said Kim Porter, director of the Batesville Memorial Public Library. “I don’t understand it.”
Two major concerns raised by SEA 1, according to Indiana Library Federation President Julie Wendorf are property tax revenue and the local income tax (LIT) distribution formula. Hoosier homeowners are expected to save an average of $300 in property taxes – the primary funding source for most libraries, according to Wendorf. Paired with changes to LIT formulas, many library’s budgets will feel the strain.
“Library funding across Indiana is not standardized,” Wendorf explained, “each public library receives tax support in a unique manner, influenced by its local property tax rate and access to local income tax revenue.”
The full effects of SEA 1 likely won’t be seen until 2028, by which point many will face “significant reductions to their overall funding,” said Wendorf, “due to both diminished property tax growth and decreased LIT allocations.”
Libraries can’t raise local income taxes on their own and instead will have to petition counties to approve a LIT dollars for their use.
Sure, the library is an old-fashioned concept. So is democracy, so is equal opportunity, so is knowledge.Carri Randall, Johnson County library patron
Beyond her role with the library federation, Wendorf serves as the director of Crown Point Community Library.
“As local governments prepare their 2026 budgets, we’re trying to account for the impact of SEA 1 without having much concrete data,” she shared. Crown Point’s library has implemented a hiring freeze for new positions and is reviewing staff vacancies individually. When a department head recently announced their retirement, Wendorf said, “I merged two departments to achieve significant savings.”
While working on next year’s budget, Wendorf explained that she’s reviewing contracts and expenses, cutting costs where possible to “help offset the first year’s impact.” Offsetting that impact, however, is challenging “because SEA 1 limits revenue growth,” meaning “the gap between funding and rising expenses will only widen over time.”
Coupled with what Wendorf describes as “cascading funding pressures,” Indiana’s local, state and even federal libraries will see their ability to provide services hindered. One notable example — following the dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Services in March, the Indiana State Library lost $3 million in federal funding. That $3 million directly supported Indiana’s public libraries.
The state library’s budget was also further cut by state lawmakers, which impacts what it can provide local libraries. Areas affected by these cuts and SEA 1 include public internet access — many libraries rely on the state library’s Internet Connectivity Grant, which partially reimburses local libraries for service costs to provide public internet access — and the INSPIRE database, an education and research tool used by public, academic and school libraries. Funding cuts may force public libraries to secure their own database subscriptions at a high cost to maintain the same level of access.
“Smaller or rural libraries with limited reserves could be forced into structural deficits, staff cuts or service closures,” Wendorf said, “as a result, public access to literacy and lifelong learning resources, digital equity and community program could be curtailed at a time when Hoosiers continue to rely heavily on libraries for these services.”
Vanessa Martin, director of the Greensburg Decatur County Public Library, elaborated on where rural libraries, especially, may need to make cuts.
“I think a lot of libraries are looking at their electronic offerings,” Martin said, “So, Overdrive, Libby, Hoopla,” she named three widely used ebook and streaming services libraries use, “any databases that aren’t getting used as much. Those aren’t things that we necessarily want to completely cut out,” she emphasized, noting use of many databases has increased, “but we might have to limit more.”
She added that regarding programming, libraries “might have to do more with less” and potentially explore staffing cuts. The key, she said, is to find “a good balance of where the money goes to fund all the different things that we do.”
“People are still using the library,” Martin said, “we have people in here every day – for things that go beyond the books.”
Martin noted that Greensburg’s library has people visiting daily for internet access, meeting spaces, tutoring and more, “we’re still needed,” she said, “our digital offerings numbers continue to go up.”
Porter, with the Batesville library, is in a particularly unique position as the city sits on the Ripley-Franklin County line. Both counties have additional library systems that will also need to be funded via LIT and property tax money.
“It could be interesting,” Porter observed, “I could get funds from one county and not from the other.”
One-third of Batesville’s operating budget currently comes from local income tax dollars — “it’s just going to be really interesting, because I know it’s not going to cover everything that we do.”
Some library directors are already working to educate their communities on the potential impact of SEA 1.
Johnson County Public Library Director Lisa Lintner hosted two public meetings covering ‘Funding and the Future of JCPL’ — walking citizens through how the library is funded and how SEA 1 might affect the library’s future.
“I am asking residents to volunteer to be advocates on our behalf,” Lintner said, “to support fully funding our library in the future, when we’ll need to begin petitioning the county in 2027 for continued funding of our local income taxes in 2028.”
About 45 people attended the program, according to Lintner, who added that she plans to repeat the program every few months. “Attendees were grateful to understand more clearly how the library is funded,” she said, “many expressed concern for our future funding and wanted to learn how they could support us.”
The Johnson County library gets 40% of its operating budget from LIT money.
With the passage of SEA 1, Lintner said, “we will have to begin petitioning our county council” for LIT funds in 2027. By 2028, “many library districts could see devastating outcomes if LIT funding is not approved,” she observed.
More than 200 library districts across Indiana rely on LIT money, according to Lintner.
Kerri Gipson, a long-time Johnson County public library user, said “it breaks my heart to think of JCPL not getting necessary funding to continue providing the valuable resources and services that they currently provide. Libraries are such an asset to community.”
The library became a big part of Gipson and her family’s lives in 2014, when Gipson started homeschooling her son following a move to Johnson County. Gipson and her son have both bonded with library staff over the past decade and they’ve both gotten involved in volunteer work — her son runs three weekly Dungeons and Dragons programs at JCPL and its branches and was named volunteer of the year in 2024. Gipson herself has done ESL tutoring and assists in her son’s programs.
“It means so much that JCPL creates safe, inclusive environments where everyone feels welcome and values,” she said.
Carri Randall has been a lifelong library user, dating back to her childhood in Los Angeles and volunteers at JCPL when possible. Randall, a teacher, shared that she and her colleagues “rely on libraries,” noting they make resources accessible to all that might not be otherwise.
“When I work with students on gathering information – there is no way it can be done solely within the confines of the school day. The only places they are going to be able to access any needed information for free is the public library,” especially kids from lower-income homes — three of Johnson County’s schools have free or reduced lunch rates of over 40%, according to Randall.Libraries are no longer just information vaults or the keepers of information, she said. As examples, Randall cited database access, ebooks, wifi hotspot access, programs for the public, interlibrary loans, access to out-of-print sources, story hour and many other valuable educational services.
She believes libraries provide all residents with access to resources “that will mean the difference between success and failure for residents as individuals, Johnson County as a community and the United States as a nation. Sure, the library is an old-fashioned concept. So is democracy, so is equal opportunity, so is knowledge.”
Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.
