Grants Pass, Dec. 21, 2023 — As the nonprofit organization which provides financial support for the Josephine Community Library District, the Josephine Community Library Foundation announced today its full support of the library district’s objection to the Josephine County Board of Commissioners’ recent decision to allow residents to withdraw from the library district with the plan to fundraise for legal fees.
After a Dec. 6 vote of the Board of Commissioners to allow a resident to opt out of the library district and no longer pay taxes to support library services, the library district contracted with the law firm Hornecker Cowling LLP to appeal the decision through the courts.
According to a statement issued by JCLF, the nonprofit library foundation is in full support of the district’s efforts to appeal the ruling to both preserve the integrity of the 2017 library district election and to seek judgement from a higher court than the Josephine County Board of Commissioners.
“Residents and library patrons have reached out to the library foundation to express their frustration, including concerns about wastefulness of taxpayer dollars by the commissioners,” said Josephine Community Library Foundation Executive Director Rebecca Stoltz. “While we are uncertain of the extent of financial support necessary, the library foundation will help with the fundraising efforts to pay for legal fees for the district, saving taxpayer dollars for library services.”
The Josephine Community Library Foundation Board of Directors is encouraging residents to demonstrate their support by making contributions to the library foundation for this purpose.
Donations to support legal fees can be made to the foundation through its website at www.jclfoundation.org or by mail to P.O. Box 1684, Grants Pass, Oregon, 97528. For more information, contact Executive Director Rebecca Stoltz at rstoltz@josephinelibrary.org.
The oldest business in the Illinois Valley. Independently published since 1937.