The Washington County Public Library main branch is shown at 615 Fifth St. in Marietta. The library has a wide range of services available to the community. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

The Washington County Commissioners approved placing the public library tax levy on the ballot for the upcoming general election Nov. 3.

The proposed tax will not exceed 0.5 mill for each $1 of taxable value. This will amount to a maximum tax of $17.50 for each $100,000 of valuation certified by the county auditor.

Going before voters for the third time in a year, the levy would provide funds for the current expenses of the library and cover all branches in the county. The term would be for 10 years beginning in tax year 2026, calendar year 2027.

“The levy passed last year but due to technicalities it was taken down, and then it failed (in May),” said Commissioner Eddie Place, who officiated Thursday’s meeting in Commission President Charlie Schilling’s absence.

The levy appeared on the ballot November 2025 but due to problems with the process, the votes did not count even though the community passed it. Once those technicalities were resolved and the levy appeared officially on the ballot in May, it was rejected.

“I do believe that it failed potentially because people did not realize that it didn’t actually take effect in the November election,” said Washington County Public Fiscal Officer Lisa Flowers. “I think people were confused, and they thought we already had a levy.”

Flowers said there is a need for the public library in the community, especially the branch locations such as New Matamoras, Beverly and Barlow.

“They are not as busy as the others, but those branches serve the most needy, and some of those locations have more people that need our services,” she said.

Washington County Job and Family Services Director Flite Freimann said those branches are important because of how much geographical distance there is between each community.

“I know a lot of folks think, ‘Why do you need the library anymore? You can get anything right on your phone,’ and that’s not true for the least among us,” he said. “Keeping those branches open is crucially important, and we do a lot of workforce development out there.”

Freimann said the libraries allow people who don’t have a phone or easy internet access to apply for things like Medicaid and SNAP benefits.

Washington County Health Department Administrative Director Sherry Ellem said the libraries are important from a health perspective, too.

“Access to things is so important, and they co-sponsor the Walk With Ease program for seniors,” said Ellem. “The library is so important for our community.”

The commissioners also approved an advance in the amount of $306,640.69 to cover payroll, Medicare, health insurance and bills for Job and Family ServicesWCJFS. They also approved a $60,000 transfer from TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) to other expenses.

Due to the timing of the end of the fiscal year, Job and Family Services will “loan” money from the commissioners to cover these costs and return the money in four weeks once the state money arrives.

“These are both payday loans from you (commission) to JFS; the state has shut down our ability,” said Freimann. “I have spent all of my 2026 money … I cannot draw the new state money until the new fiscal year July 1, and I cannot draw the new state money for the first two weeks of July.”

Freimann said the 30-day loan will cover payroll and bills on July 1. He said the $60,000 transfer is “a bit complicated” because JFS contracts out their bills like electric and gas.

“We need more money in those contract services, and I can’t get an increased appropriation for contract services unless I actually have money to put into it,” he said.

Freimann said they’ll transfer the TANF dollars toward regular bills then move the new money back to TANF once the money is there.

“We’ll use the money that we get from the state for contract services to repay TANF, so we’ll be back in four weeks to undo all of this again,” he said.

Washington County Family and Children First Director Cindy Davis said after the launch of the No Wrong Door initiative in May they’ve received national attention.

“We’ve had a lot of folks reaching out and other counties wanting to find out more information about it and how to replicate it,” she said.

Davis said No Wrong Door Project Coordinator Megan Gilliam was a guest on a podcast by The Legal Services Corporation called “Talk Justice.”

She said they were contacted by LSC to talk about the No Wrong Door initiative, which partners organizations across the county to ensure individuals and families have full access to the help they need. Any organization registered as a partner of No Wrong Door can help those in need by directing them to another partner organization that better suits the individual’s needs and situation.

Amber Phipps can be reached at aphipps@newsandsentinel.com