The Sycamore Public Library is seeking to increase its property tax levy in 2026 by $177,500, the library’s top official told the Sycamore City Council this week.

Kim Halsey, the director of the Sycamore Public Library since 2020, told city officials on Monday that the library is asking for a $1.7 million property tax levy in 2026.

She said the gross cost of wages for library workers has increased by 7%, making it one of the top reasons the library board is seeking to increase its property tax levy.

“This is largely due to our continued struggle to pay an equitable and competitive wage for our staff,” Halsey said. “It’s difficult to attract qualified talent and more difficult to retain that.”

While acknowledging Sycamore isn’t as big as other municipalities, Halsey said public libraries in DeKalb, Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles and Elgin pay their workers between $5 to $15 more per hour than what Sycamore currently pays its workers.

She said that raising wages at the Sycamore Public Library will help the community.

“As we raise the tide of wages in the Sycamore Library, the tide of Sycamore raises too,” Halsey said. “More people stay or consider relocating to the area, which is more money spent in town. The reality is the library relies solely on property taxes for our operating budget.”

A public hearing on the library’s levy request was held on Monday. The only person to ask a question, 1st Ward Alderwoman Alicia Cosky, asked if the city could pay the library to cover the estimated $177,500 in revenue that would be gained with the proposed tax levy increase.

Sycamore City Manager Michael Hall said no.

“They are their own taxing body,” Hall said. “The only thing that this Council does is approve the levy, and the library board approves the expenditures. It’s kind of a weird thing. You approve the revenues, they approve the expenditures. It’s kind of a strange relationship, but that’s what it is.”

During her presentation to city officials, Halsey also said libraries aren’t becoming obsolete in the modern world. Instead, she said they are creating digital spaces where the public can check out materials online.

Halsey said on Monday that 40,000 digital materials have been “checked out online” from the Sycamore library. More than 115,000 physical materials, such as books or DVDs, have been checked out from the library.

The Sycamore Public Library, steps from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office and jail, has also become a place of refuge for people, particularly children, seeking to get away from abuse, she said.

“We have become a safe haven for minors,” Halsey said. “This is not something I saw coming. It’s not something we could have anticipated, but we’ve had four different individuals under the age of 15 seek refuge in our space.”

Halsey said the library has worked with the Sycamore Police Department, as well as the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, when children seeking safety arrive at the library.

She doesn’t know how the library became the go-to space for children seeking respite, but said she is grateful that the library is viewed as a place where people can find help and safety.