§ 2-53. Annual payment of county library tax to certain municipalities.

(a) If the governing body of any municipality in the County which supports or operates a free public library on December 31, 1997 does not transfer that library into the County system, the Director of Finance must pay annually to the governing body of that municipality for library purposes, as soon after the beginning of each fiscal year as possible:

(1) an amount which would be realized if that portion of the general County ad valorem tax rate on real and personal property attributable to the appropriation for the Department of Public Libraries for that fiscal year were levied against the assessed value, on the preceding County date of finality, of the real and personal property in that municipality; or

(2) a lower amount approved in the annual operating budget or a Council resolution.

For the purposes of this subsection, the amount of the appropriation for the Department of Public Libraries in any fiscal year includes the estimated amount of the payment to that municipality in that fiscal year. The amount of payment to any municipality must not exceed in any given fiscal year the amount of revenue derived from taxes levied by that municipality for library purposes for the preceding fiscal year.

(b) If the governing body of a library supported by a municipality indicates a desire to transfer all or part of the library facilities owned by it into the County public library system, the Director of Public Libraries must negotiate for that transfer as provided in this Article. (Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 2-59; 1999 L.M.C., ch. 11, § 1; , § 1.)

Editor’s note—, § 3, states: The amendments inserted in Section 2-53 in Section 1 expire after June 30, 2012.